Burning Desire
by Cora Summers
Summary: Olivia is now with FDNY instead of NYPD. She and her crew respond to a fire at Alex's building. Drama and Romance involved. A/O Femslash Don't like don't read.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own the characters. Unfortunately they are the property of Dick Wolf and NBC.

* * *

Olivia Benson wasn't very fond of working third shift. Sure, there was a lot more action, but there were also a lot more fatal accidents and Olivia always took the deaths personally. It made her feel as though she and her team didn't respond fast enough, and because she was a lieutenant within Ladder Company 28 and she was in charge of the night crew, she felt that it was her responsibility. She just hoped they could avoid any problems tonight.

"Hey guys," Liv called as she entered the station and noticed some of her crew already there. "Where is everyone else?"

"They got here early, just before a call, and decided to help out," Angie Barton, the only other female on the team responded.

"Anything we need to be worried about?" Liv asked, concerned.

"Not really. I think it was just a possible jumper at 54th and Lexington," Jose Gutierrez answered.

As he finished his statement, the last four members of the team entered the station. Johnny Daniels, Paul Unger, Danny Johnson, and Danny Mitchell all looked no worse for the wear.

"Hey guys, any problems?" Liv asked.

"Nah, the jumper was talked down by the police so it all turned out good." Danny Johnson, or DJ, responded.

Liv looked at the others, waiting to hear any other comments. When she was certain the no one was going to say anything, she began to make her start of shift inquiries, but was interrupted by a loud ringing throughout the station house, signaling a call out.

"Alright everyone suit up," she yelled, rushing to get her gear. "On the truck in two. Daniels, you're driving."

They arrived at the truck in less than two minutes and were on their way out to the building. It wasn't that hard to miss, as it was close to where they were located.

Making it to the scene, Liv could see that they were the first to arrive but she could also see the other trucks not far off. "Listen up," she yelled as her team was making preparations, "Unger, you and I are going in to make sure that everyone is out. The rest of you, man the hose and get that blaze out. Let's move it!"

Everyone was scrambling around trying to follow the orders that were just given. Within minutes, the hose was on and Liv and Unger were on their way in. Unger started a sweep of the bottom floor and was going to work his way up, Liv went up to the third floor to do the same.

Coming out on the third floor landing, Liv immediately notice a little boy in the hall with tears streaming down his face. She ran up to him, thankful that the smoke wasn't thick enough to require her oxygen mask just yet so that he didn't have to be scared of her.

"Hey little man, my name's Olivia. What do you say we get you out of here?" She asked as she scooped him into her arms. His only response was to nod and wrap his arms around Liv's neck.

Liv rushed down the stairs to get him to safety. When she exited the building and reached a designated safe area, she put him down. "Hey little man, where are your parents?" She asked the little boy.

"She's still in there," he yelled anxiously.

"Ok, can you tell me what floor you live on?" she questioned, trying to figure out whether or not he actually lived on the third floor, or if he had been trying to get out himself. All he could do was hold up his hand with five fingers up.

Liv cursed under her breath. She left the boy with the officials in the area as she sprinted back into the building. Knowing that the smoke would be a lot worse, she put her oxygen mask on and ran as fast as she could to the fifth floor. Thankfully, there were only a few apartments on this floor, so she didn't have too many doors to knock down. She cleared the first two apartments, making sure no one was still in them. When she reached the third apartment, the door was thrown open suddenly and a woman with blonde hair was standing in the door way, coughing. Olivia didn't even take the time to think. She knew this woman needed fresh air and she needed it now. She took a couple deep breaths, then removed her oxygen mask and placed it on the blonde's face. She bent down to scoop her up in her arms just as the blonde collapsed.

Liv ran back towards the stairs and went down as fast as she could. Finally reaching the last flight, Olivia noticed how the wood was now warped, signifying that they were unsafe to walk on. She tried to do her best to look ahead to the bottom to see how safe that was, but her vision started to blur, telling her that she needed to get into the fresh air as soon as possible. She stepped back as far as she could and took a running start. She leapt as she got to the edge, clearing the entire flight of stairs. When she landed, she immediately felt the pain and she was pretty sure that she had just sprained her ankle, but somehow she managed to stay on her feet and make it safely out of the building.

By the time she brought the blonde over to the safe area, she was already starting to stir. Olivia set her down and suddenly fell to her knees, knowing that she was going to pass out. The last thing she saw was the little boy rush over to the blonde that she had just rescued. She smiled as the blackness enclosed on her, knowing that she had returned the woman to whom she thought was her son.

Sometime later, when Olivia started to regain consciousness, she could hear a steady beeping, some light mutterings, and at least one person roaming around the room. Finally able to open her eyes, she saw her team sitting or standing around the room, and a nurse silently checking her vitals.

"Hey guys," she said hoarsely, aiming to get their attention.

"Damn L.T," yelled Barton, "don't you do that again. You scared the shit out of us."

"When, last night or right now?" Liv smirked.

"Both," Mitchell responded, causing everyone in the room to laugh.

"What happened?" She asked

"Well, after you rescued the blonde bombshell, you passed out. She flagged down the EMT's and they took a look at you. They told her that you would have to come here for oxygen and to get your ankle checked out, but other than that you s would be just fine. And now here we all are." Unger explained.

After the explanation of the night's events, the nurse realized that Olivia was again growing tired, she ushered the guests out of the room, all of them promising that they were see her when she got out. With that she fell asleep to the sounds of the heart monitor.

She woke for the second time, a few hours later, and noticed to familiar faces sitting in the chairs beside the bed.

"Hey, El! Monique! How's it going?" Liv asked her visitors.

"Why is it that it that it takes a hospital visit for me to get to see you?" Monique asked, placing a few magazines in front of Liv.

"What can I say? I've been busy the last couple weeks."

"Just to let you know, Cragen's pissed at you." Elliot warned.

"What did I do this time?" Liv asked.

"You almost got yourself killed." Monique filled in.

"I was doing my job!" Liv exclaimed.

"Yeah and now you have a sprained ankle and currently sound like you have been smoking for forty years." Elliot explained.

"First of all if I could have taken a different way out, I would have. By the time I found the woman she was already in the hall and it would have been pointless to take her further into the burning building to use a fire escape. I knew the chance of the floor being structurally sound wasn't good, but I had to get her out. Second, she was having trouble breathing and needed clean air as soon as possible. My oxygen mask was the closest thing at the time. I got her out safely and that is all that matters."

"Well, I just thought you should know that Cragen is gonna be here later." Elliot responded.

"And the woman's name is Alex Cabot, just so you know." Monique added.

"How do you know that?" Liv questioned.

"Because she is our ADA." Elliot said.

"Damn! How's that for a coincidence?" Liv asked, more to herself than her visitors.

"That's actually the other reason that we're here." Monique said.

"You mean you didn't just want to check on me to make sure I was ok?" Liv asked with mock hurt in her voice.

"Are you kidding me? You'd give superman a run for his money on the invincibility scale." Elliot laughed.

"Yeah right," Liv scoffed. "So what does this have to do with ADA Cabot?"

"Do you remember the little boy that you pulled out of the building?" Monique questioned.

"Yeah, I think he was actually looking for Ms. Cabot when I found him. He ran up to her as soon I got her in the safe area." Liv told them.

"We think he witnessed the arson and the rape that took place beforehand, but we can't get him to talk to us. He wouldn't even talk to Alex so she took him to see Liz Olivet. She couldn't get him to talk either, but he kept drawing pictures of the fireman that saved him. Huang seems to think that he might talk to you if he saw you again." Elliot explained.

"Well, they are keeping me for another night for observation. When do you want me to talk to him?" Liv asked.

"The sooner we have something, the sooner we can find the guy." Monique responded.

"If it's alright with Ms. Cabot, have her bring her son to the precinct around noon tomorrow and I'll give it a shot." Liv said.

"Thanks, Liv," Elliot said standing to leave. "Well we had better get going and let you get some rest. See you tomorrow, Liv."

"Try and get some sleep girl. And no hitting on the nurses." Monique mock scolded as she made her way to the door.

"Are you ever gonna let me live that down? It happened one time. And for the record I was hopped up on pain killers."

"Whatever you say Benson," Monique replied. "And what does that say about everyone else when you still came out of that with at least four numbers?"

"What can I say?" Liv shrugged. "I can't help it if my natural charm comes through even when I'm drugged."

Instead of responding, Monique laughed and followed her partner out the door. As soon as the door closed there was another knock. "Come in." Liv yelled, not looking up from her magazine.

"Lieutenant Benson?" came a foreign, angelic voice from the doorway. Olivia's head immediately snapped up, her chocolate brown eyes meeting ocean blue. "I hope you don't mind me stopping in like this."

"No, not at all."

"I just wanted to thank you for saving my life." Alex responded.

"Ms. Cabot, right?" Liv asked, motioning for Alex to sit.

"How did you know?" Alex asked, shocked that the lieutenant knew her name.

"Detectives Stabler and Jeffries were just here and told me that I had saved their ADA," Liv explained. "They wanted to scold me, thank me, and ask for my help, all in that order."

"Please call me Alex," she stated. "If you don't mind my asking, how do you know do you know Elliot and Monique?"

"I used to be a member of SVU, obviously before you joined, and Elliot was my partner. Monique was there too, but I met her when I was still a beat cop."

"So you used to be a detective as well?" Alex questioned. Seeing Liv nod, she continued. "If it's not too personal, seeing as I don't even really know you, would you mind telling me what happened?"

"I pissed off the wrong people." Liv smirked. "I was working the Nelson case. You might have seen the file, seeing as the case was never officially closed. I had evidence that connected Judge Hogan to the crime. Apparently you don't question political officials as suspects in a rape/homicide investigation. He had the right connections, made my evidence disappear, and forced me off the squad. Other than the fact that we couldn't make him for the crime, I don't regret it. I love my job now and apparently I'm good at it."

"Yeah you are," Alex reassured her. "Wait a minute! You were the lead detective on that case? Alex asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because, you are famous around the precinct. Because of that case, Hogan was forced off the New York bench, too much bad publicity I guess. From what I hear he moved out to No-name, Nebraska." Alex replied in awe.

Feeling the sudden silence starting to grow awkward, Alex changed the subject. "Besides thanking you, I actually came by to ask you a favor," she explained nervously.

"Sure."

"Well Jimmy, won't talk to me about what happened…"

"I'm guessing that you want me to talk to him?" Liv asked.

"Yeah, how did you know that?"

"Stabler and Jeffries asked me the same thing. I told them that if it is convenient for you then you could bring Jimmy down to the precinct around noon tomorrow and I'll give it a shot."

"That shouldn't be a problem." Alex responded thankfully. "Well I should get going and let you get some rest." With that, Alex stood up and made her way to the door. "See you tomorrow Lieutenant."

"See you tomorrow Counselor."


	2. Chapter 2

See chapter one for standard disclaimers. I don't own this song either.

* * *

Olivia walked into the precinct at exactly noon. After being discharged earlier that morning, she stopped by the station house to see her crew and pick up a few things. She then made her way to her former squad.

Entering the ball pen, she noticed her four favorite detectives: Munch, Fin, Jeffries, and Stabler, sitting at their desks, going through paper work and she couldn't resist the chance to give them a hard time.

"Don't you guys ever do any work around here?" She called out teasingly to her friends, causing them all to startle slightly as the relative silence was broken.

They all rushed over to greet her and to make sure she was ok after the last couple of days. The impromptu reunion was interrupted by an authoritative fatherly voice.

"Nice to see you again, Benson."

Olivia winced as she turned to face Captain Donald Cragen. He hadn't had a chance to visit the day before and she was mentally preparing for the lecture she was pretty sure he was about to deliver. Before she could open her mouth to say anything, he held up a hand to stop her.

"I know what you're going to say, Liv, and you're right. Just try to be a little more careful next time," he told her.

Liv smiled in relief. "Sure thing Cap'n."

"Why is it that you don't even work with this squad anymore yet we still seem to need you to talk to our witnesses?" Fin asked with mock indignation.

"You don't need me, you just miss seeing me every day," Liv answered teasingly.

"You would too, if you were surrounded by these three goons all day, Liv," Monique answered.

"Have you seen the goons I work with?" Liv countered, completely ignoring the three male detectives.

"I don't know, that Gutierrez is kinda hot," Monique teased.

"I'll make sure to give him your number," Liv laughed.

"We are still here, you know?" Munch broke in.

"Totally aware of that, John," Liv shot back at him with a smile, causing the whole group to laugh. "Anyway, back to the reason that I am here."

This statement caused the group to slip back into professional mode. Elliot motioned for her to follow him towards the children's room. Olivia picked up the bag she had brought with her and made her way to the familiar room.

Standing on the outside looking through the glass, Olivia could see the little boy from the building sitting down at the table quietly drawing pictures. She could also see a blonde woman sitting in the chair next to him, dressed in courtroom attire. Olivia was secretly glad that the ADA was still there.

"She has been in there for the past hour trying to get him to talk before you got here, but he hasn't said anything. Both Huang and Olivet seem to think that you will be able to get him to talk about what happened. Something about you making him feel safe." Elliot told her.

"I can't guarantee anything, but I will try." Liv assured him as she opened the door.

Hearing the door open, Alex's attention was drawn away from her nephew and to the entering visitor. There was the smallest hint of a smile when she saw that it was Olivia Benson. "Lieutenant," she greeted warmly.

"Counselor," Olivia smiled.

"Jimmy, there is someone here to see you," Alex informed the little boy. He shifted his gaze from the paper and his eyes lit up when he saw that it was Olivia. Alex noticed the change right away.

"Hey little man. Do you remember me?" Liv asked.

"'Livia!" Johnny yelled. He jumped to his feet and ran to give Olivia a big hug.

"I will leave you two alone." Alex said. She figured it might be easier for Jimmy to talk if she wasn't in the room. He seemed to have no problem talking to the Lieutenant. Instead she just listened from the observation room.

"Someone told me that you might want to talk to me," Liv said. Jimmy nodded. "Why did you want to talk to me so bad and not the other people?"

"Cause you saved me. And I feel safe with you. You can keep the bad man away from me."

"You didn't want to talk to your mom?" she asked, thinking it was Alex.

"Mommy isn't here anymore." Jimmy told her, matter-of-factly.

"Who was the woman who just left then?" Liv questioned, now thoroughly confused.

"That is Aunt Alex. I get to stay with her until Daddy gets home."

Hearing this information pleased Olivia. She knew she had been attracted to the blonde ADA, but she also thought that Jimmy had been her son, confirming that she was straight. _She might still be straight, but this at least means you still have a chance, Benson._ Liv thought to herself. She mentally kicked herself though for thinking of a possible date instead of the case. "Oh, and what do you do with Aunt Alex?" Olivia was trying to make him more comfortable by asking safe questions to begin with.

"Sometimes we go to the park and get ice cream, or we just sit around the apartment while I play and she does grown-up stuff for work. If I'm really good then I get to go with her on her dates and business dinners." Jimmy replied.

"How do you know if it is a date or a business dinner?" Asked a genuinely interested Lieutenant Benson.

"Cause she only dates girls and all her meetings are with boys."

Behind the glass Alex was silently thanking god that she was the only one in the observation room. She didn't go out of her way to hide that fact that she was a lesbian, but she didn't need for that fact to be broadcast to her detectives. She was also secretly wondering what Olivia's reaction would be. Any human being with a pulse would have to be crazy not to be attracted to the brunette in the other room. Alex just hoped that she at least had a shot.

"Which one does she go out on more often?" Olivia asked.

__

I've got a chance.

Alex thought with a smile.

"Mostly business dinners with that creepy guy, Lagoon." Jimmy said, pulling a face when he said the other man's name.

Olivia tried to think very hard for any kind of attorney that she had come across in her years with the squad who Alex might have a business dinner with and would have a name anywhere near "Lagoon." Suddenly a thought came to her. "Jimmy, do you mean Langon?" She asked with a hint of amusement.

"Yeah. Aunt Alex says that he reminds her of a weasel."

Olivia silently agreed with that assessment while she decided that she was liking the young ADA more and more.

"What's in the bag?" Jimmy asked, drawing attention to the forgotten bag by Liv's side.

"Well, I thought I would bring a few things that would make you feel better. The first is something I can give to you right here, but for the second we need to leave the precinct, ok?"

Jimmy nodded. Olivia reached into the bag and pulled out a red plastic fireman's hat and placed it on the little boys head. His eyes lit up as soon as he realized what it was. "Now in order to keep this," Liv started, "you have to try and talk more to the adults that you know and trust, deal?"

"Deal," Jimmy agreed. Outside the glass, Alex smiled with relief. "What about the second thing?" Jimmy asked.

Sensing his excitement, Olivia knew that she would have to move along with this part. "For this part we need to go ask Aunt Alex something."

Jimmy jumped up and ran towards the door.

Alex had already exited the observation room when she saw Jimmy running out.

"Aunt Alex! Aunt Alex! Livia has something to ask you," Jimmy explained. He ran up to her and took a hold of her hand, jumping up and down, even though he had no clue what to be so excited about. Alex looked to Olivia, waiting for the question.

Olivia smiled at the little boy's excitement. "I was wondering if it would be alright to take Jimmy on a small field trip." Olivia said.

Alex thought about it for a moment. She had to be in court in twenty minutes, but she trusted Olivia with her nephew, even though they had only met a day ago. Plus this would give Alex the chance to see Olivia later when she dropped Jimmy off. "Why don't you tell me where you want to go and then I'll answer," Alex finally responded. Truth was, she was just as curious as Jimmy, but she wouldn't show it.

Olivia leaned in and whispered the location in Alex's ear. Alex almost allowed herself to shiver at the feel of Olivia's warm breath on her ear, but years of controlling her body language prevented it from showing.

Hearing the destination, Alex smiled as Olivia pulled back. "I think that would be a very good idea," Alex said and checked her watch. "Do you have anything else to do today?"

"Not really. I can't go back to work for a couple of weeks thanks to my ankle, so I am all Jimmy's today," Olivia explained.

"Would you mind taking care of him after your field trip?" Alex asked apprehensively. "It's just that I have to be in court in a few minutes and I don't think it would be wise to leave him here."

"I don't mind at all," Olivia responded. "What time do you want me to bring him home and where exactly is home for now?"

"How about you bring him home around six," Alex said as she wrote down her current address. "We're staying at my mother's apartment here in the city."

Olivia noted that it was only going on one, leaving her with five hours to entertain an energetic five year old. "I can do that," Olivia said to Alex. She then turned to Jimmy. "Ready to go, Little Man?"

"Where are we going, Livia?" Jimmy asked excitedly.

"Go grab your jacket and we'll find out," she told him. Jimmy ran back into the children's interview room to grab his things. "After we're done, I'll take him to lunch and see what I can do about getting information for the case," Olivia explained to Alex.

Alex smiled. "If you don't get him to talk about it that's ok with me," Alex responded honestly. "I'm just glad that he is talking to me again. I never thought I could miss anyone's voice so much after just one day."

Olivia smiled and was about to respond when Jimmy came back into the squad room, jacket in hand. "I got my jacket, Livia. Can we go now, please?"

Olivia and Alex both laughed. "Say bye to your Aunt and then we can go," Olivia told him.

"Bye, Aunt Alex. I'll see you later." He ran up and gave Alex a big hug.

"Be good ok?" Alex told him.

Jimmy giggled. "I'm always good."

Olivia laughed as Alex responded. "Yes, you are. But be extra good today, ok?"

Jimmy looked at her for a minute and then leaned in to whisper in his aunt's ear. "You like her, don't you?"

Alex laughed at how perceptive the little boy actually was. She nodded her response.

"I do too. She's nice and she's pretty," Jimmy said. Before Alex could respond, he had already turned back to Olivia. "Ok, now I'm ready," he grabbed her hand and started to pull her towards the door.

Olivia laughed. "Six, right?"

Alex nodded with an amused smile on her face. "I'll see you both then."

"Good Luck in court, Counselor," Olivia called out just before they exited the squad room. She knew she was in for an interesting day.


	3. Chapter 3

For disclaimers, please see chapter one

* * *

Olivia and Jimmy walked out of the precinct and Olivia brought him to her car. She was thankful that she hadn't gotten around to taking out the child booster seat she had for when she looked after Elliot's kids when they were younger. She got him situated in the backseat, got herself situated in the front seat, and they were off.

Jimmy kept asking questions about their destination, which Olivia stealthy avoided answering. When the car came to a stop, Jimmy looked out the window and gasped as his eyes became the size of saucers. They had stopped in front of a Build-a-Bear workshop.

"Livia, do I get to make a bear?" he asked with all of the excitement he felt coming out in his words.

"You get to make whatever animal you want," Liv told him as she helped out of the car. They walked into the building and Jimmy was having trouble where he wanted to go first. Olivia thought she would help him out a little. "Why don't we go and pick an animal, first?" She suggested.

Jimmy grabbed her hand and led the way over to the vast array of animals he could choose from. He looked up at Olivia for a moment, as if studying her. He then looked back at his choices. It looked to Olivia, like he was looking for something specific but she didn't know what and he obviously hadn't seen it yet. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "That one!" He exclaimed and pointed to a bin full of ready-to-stuff female lions. He couldn't quite reach it, so Olivia gave him a hand.

"Thanks, Livia," he said. He then led the way over to the stuffing station.

"Hey there," the station worker greeted. "My name is Jessica. Are you ready to stuff your new friend?"

Jimmy nodded.

"Ok, first you have to pick out a heart," Jessica said.

"Livia, you get to pick one too," Jimmy said as he picked out his heart. Olivia laughed as she did the same.

"Now rub it on your nose so it doesn't get the sniffles," Jessica started.

"Livia you have to do it too," Jimmy told her. Olivia laughed and nodded.

"Rub it on your tummy so they don't every get hungry," Jessica continued. "Rub it on your funny bone so they are always really silly. Hop up and down three times on one foot so they have really good balance. Turn around in a circle three times so they don't get dizzy. Give the heart a big kiss, make a wish, and put it right in here."

When they finished with the last of Jessica's instructions, Olivia and Jimmy put the hearts inside the lioness.

"Now do you want your friend soft and cuddly, or hard and strong?"

Once again Jimmy looked up at Olivia. After a minute or two, he looked back at Jessica. "Can you go somewhere in the middle?"

"Sure we can," Jessica replied. "Just step on that pedal and let it go when I tell you to stop."

Jimmy did as Jessica said and both he and Olivia watched as the object became a stuffed animal. When Jessica told him to stop, he took his foot off the pedal. She then held out the stuffed animal for him to feel to see if it was how he wanted it. "How's that?" She asked.

He felt the lioness for a few seconds and then he stepped closer to Olivia. He felt her calf much the same way as he had the stuffed animal. Satisfied, he turned back to Jessica. "Perfect," he told her. Jessica laced up the back, handed him his new friend, and pointed him towards the area where her could pick out an outfit for it.

Olivia was surprised, honored, and a little amused that Jimmy was trying to base his new stuffed animal off of her. She had a feeling his choice of an outfit wouldn't be a difficult one to make.

Sure enough, they made it to the wall of outfits and Jimmy pointed to the top right corner, asking her to grab the fireman's outfit. She got it down and handed it to him. He then picked up a pair of Joe Boxer boxer shorts and a pair of socks to go on before the boots. Jimmy put everything on the lioness at the dressing station. Now all they had to do was get the "birth certificate" and they would be all set.

Sitting down at the computer, Olivia filled in all of the basic information. When it asked for a name she looked down at Jimmy who was sitting in her lap. "What do you want to name her?" She asked him.

"Livia," he stated without any hesitation.

With a smile, Olivia filled in the rest of the information. They printed the paper and went to the checkout counter. The cashier placed the certificate in the box and the Livia. Olivia paid and they presented "Livia" to Jimmy. He took the box and couldn't be more proud of his new friend.

When they got back to the car, Jimmy made sure to have Olivia buckle up "Livia" too so she would be safe. Getting herself buckled in, they set off for a little café so they could grab some lunch. Olivia decided now was a good time to try and bring up the events of the fire.

"Jimmy, I want to ask you a couple questions, ok?" she said. Jimmy nodded and looked back to his food. "If you don't want to answer any of them, just tell me and we'll stop, alright?" Again Jimmy nodded. "Alright. Can you tell me the name of the woman you were staying with last night?"

"Melanie. I get to stay with her when Aunt Alex has to stay at work for a long time, or when she hasta bring some of her work home with her," Jimmy replied.

"And what happened when you were with Melanie last night?" Olivia kept her voice light with a hint of curiosity. She didn't want Jimmy to feel pressured to answer if she sounded like she needed to know the information.

"We got to play all kinds of cool games. But then her boyfriend came over. He didn't see me so I went to go play in my room. Then I heard a really loud bang and started to smell something funny. I went to ask Melanie what was happening but all I could see was smoke. Aunt Alex taught me to call the firefighters when that happened, so I did and then you came and saved me," he smiled up at Olivia.

Olivia returned the smile. "Do you think you could describe what Melanie's boyfriend looks to one of my friends from the police station?"

Pleased that they had made some progress, Olivia decided they would take a break from the case. They finished their lunch in relative quiet. When Olivia was getting ready to pay she heard Jimmy speak up. "Livia, can we go to the park?"

Olivia smiled. "Sure. Do you want us to stop and get a Frisbee first?"

Jimmy nodded. "And can we feed the duckies? I never get to feed the duckies when I go to the park with Aunt Alex."

"And why won't Aunt Alex let you feed the duckies?" Olivia asked, thinking Jimmy wasn't allowed to feed the animals.

Jimmy giggled. "Aunt Alex says they are creepy. She won't let me cause she is a little scared of them."

Olivia laughed at the thought of the SVU ADA afraid of a little duck. "Sure we can feed the duckies." They left the restaurant and Jimmy took hold of Olivia's hand. Again, Olivia was both surprised and pleased that Jimmy felt comfortable enough around her to do that.

They got in the car and went to the park. Once there, Olivia stopped at one of the vending carts and picked up a Frisbee. She then let Jimmy lead the way down to the lake. They had left "Livia" in the car, with some mild persuading from Olivia, because they didn't want her to get dirty before Jimmy could show him to Alex.

By the lake, they played with the Frisbee for a while. Although, it was more like Jimmy was running around while Olivia tried to throw it to him. When he had finally run most of his five-year-old energy off, they went to find some duck food. Sitting by the lake, randomly tossing food to the passing ducks, Jimmy turned to Olivia and starting asking her questions.

"Olivia, do you like boys or girls?"

Olivia nearly choked on the breath she had been inhaling. After getting over her coughing fit she tried to answer. "Um…why do you want to know?"

"Just wondering," he said. "Aunt Alex likes girls, so I know it's ok."

Olivia laughed a little. "Well, then yes, I like girls. But that doesn't mean I don't like you," she said as she leaned down and ruffled his hair.

Jimmy giggled and tried to fix his hair. "I'm too young for you."

Olivia laughed at that. "You're right, we can still be friends, right?"

"Yeah," Jimmy replied. "You're cool even if you are a girl."

Olivia laughed again. She couldn't remember smiling this much in one day. "That's good to know, Little Man."

Jimmy smiled and then continued with his questioning. "Do you like Aunt Alex?"

Now Olivia was shocked. She didn't think that it had been that obvious, but if a five year old could pick up on it, who else saw it? "Would it be alright if I did?"

Jimmy nodded his head vigorously. "She likes you too," he told her.

"Really? And how do you know this?" She asked curiously.

"She told me to be extra good, and I only have to be extra good when she likes someone," he explained. "Plus she told me."

Olivia laughed. She was very pleased with this information. She looked down and checked her watch. Noticing it was already 5:30 she decided it was time to get going. "Come on, Little Man. Let's get you home." She took his hand and they went back to the car. Getting everyone situated, they made their way to Alex's apartment.


	4. Chapter 4

For disclaimer, please see chapter one.

* * *

They arrived at Alex's just before six. Jimmy had fallen asleep at some point from the park to the apartment so Olivia had to carry him and "Livia" up to the building. She got to the door and searched for the correct button. Finding it, she pressed and waited for an answer.

"Yes?" Alex said over the intercom.

"Hi. It's Lieutenant Benson," she responded. "I'm here to drop Jimmy off."

"Come on up," Alex responded as she hit the buzzer. She had almost finished making dinner and she was hoping she could persuade the Lieutenant into staying for something to eat. If nothing else it would be a way to say thank-you for saving both her and Jimmy's lives. Hopefully she could turn it into something more than just that. Hearing the knock on the door, Alex went to answer it.

She opened the door for Olivia and Jimmy, expecting Jimmy to come running in, telling him all about his day. Instead she saw the lieutenant holding a peacefully sleeping Jimmy in arm and the box from Build-a-Bear in the other. Jimmy had his head on Olivia's shoulder and his arms around her neck, looking quite comfortable with the situation.

"Hi," Alex whispered, smiling at the sight in front of her. "How long has he been asleep?"

"Not long. I took him to the park after lunch so he must have fallen asleep sometime during the ride here," Olivia explained.

"I think maybe we should wake him so he can eat. That way he can tell me about his day tonight instead of tomorrow," Alex said.

Jimmy had slowly been waking up throughout the conversation. Instead of having them wake him up he spoke up instead. "What's for dinner?" He asked sleepily. He picked up his head and started to rub his eyes.

Alex smiled. "I made spaghetti," she told him.

"With meatballs?" Jimmy asked with a sleepy smile.

Alex nodded. "Why don't you go get cleaned up and then we can eat?"

Olivia put him down and both women watched him walk down the hall towards the bathroom.

"What on earth did you do to my nephew, Lieutenant?" Alex asked as she turned back to Olivia.

"Please, my friends call me Liv," she told Alex. "And all we did was Build-a-Bear, lunch and the park. Speaking of the park," Olivia looked at Alex with an almost guilty expression. "I let him feed the ducks why were there."

Alex smiled. "Good. Now I have someone to call next time he wants to feed them."

Olivia smiled and was about to respond when Jimmy came back into the room, looking much more awake than he did before. "Can Livia stay for dinner?" he asked Alex, who looked at Olivia, silently asking the same thing.

"I don't want to impose," Olivia said with a shake of her head.

"We would be happy to have you," Alex told her. "Consider this our way of saying thank you for all you have done the past couple of days."

Olivia thought for a moment. "Alright," she told both of them. "You've talked me into it."

"Yay!" Jimmy yelled. He started to go into the dining room. "Livia, you can sit next to me."

Alex and Olivia watched him with amused expressions on their faces. "My nephew completely adores you. You know that right?" She asked as she turned towards Olivia.

Olivia chuckled. "I kind of figured that out when I took him to the workshop."

With the mention of the field trip, Alex's eyes lit up. "Can I see it?"

"I think Jimmy should be the one to show that to you and I don't think he wants to do anything else besides eat right now," Olivia said. She pointed to the table and they saw an expectant looking five year old with an annoyed expression on his face looking back at them.

"Come on guys," he said. "It's time to eat."

Both women laughed and finally made their way out of the entry way. "Do you need any help with anything?" Olivia asked.

Alex shook her head. "You go ahead and have a seat next to Jimmy," Alex told her. "All I have to do is bring the food to the table and an extra set of dishes."

"Why don't I at least get the dishes?" Olivia suggested.

Alex smiled at Olivia's insistence to help. "If you insist." She pointed out where all of the necessary items were and they went back to the table, ready to eat.

Dinner itself was an entertaining affair. Alex asked questions about their day and Jimmy answered them like any excited five year old would: very little detail and a lot of exaggeration. This left Olivia to fill in what Jimmy left out. After dinner, Jimmy was in desperate need of a bath. Olivia volunteered to clean up the kitchen while Alex saw to that. They both finished at about the same time. Alex and Olivia sat on the couch and talked while Jimmy played quietly in his room.

"Did he behave himself?" Alex asked Olivia.

"Yeah, he was the perfect gentleman," Olivia answered. "He had a lot of interesting things to say too."

Alex inwardly groaned, wondering what her nephew might have said. That groan turned to worry, thinking he might have said something about her liking Olivia. "Care to fill me in on what that was?" Alex asked.

"Nope," Olivia laughed. "That would violate Hero/child confidentiality."

Alex laughed too. "Were at least able to get him to talk about what he might have seen?" She asked.

Olivia nodded. "He gave me some information and even said he could describe the man to a sketch artist. I told him if it was alright with you, I could take him to see one tomorrow."

"That would be fine," Alex said. "I just want to catch this bastard."

"Can I ask you something?" Olivia asked.

"Seeing as though you just did," Alex smirked, "I'm going to assume that you have something else to ask, so sure go ahead."

"How is it that you came to take care of Jimmy?"

Alex sighed. "Jimmy's mom was my sister-in-law. When he was two years old she was in a fatal car accident. His dad, James Cabot, is in the army and they didn't think it was healthy for Jimmy to be traveling around all the time just because James was transferred around a lot. When she died, there was no one else to take care of him. James hasn't been able to see him in almost two years," Alex explained.

"That's horrible," Olivia said. "Is he going to be discharged soon?"

"In about a month I think. I had managed to protect him from my job for this long and now he ends up being one of the key witnesses to one of the cases."

"Hey you couldn't have known anything was going to happen to Melanie," Olivia said as she reached out to gently squeeze Alex's hand. "You should at least be glad that he didn't see the actual attack and had the sense to dial 911."

"You know when I first got into SVU, the cases themselves didn't matter as much as my win/loss ratio. It was all about reaching a broader constituency," Alex said.

"Everyone has a reason for getting into the unit," Olivia said. "Usually before long, that reason changes."

"What was yours?" Alex asked curiously. She wanted to know more about the enigmatic Lieutenant Olivia Benson.

Olivia sighed. If you had asked her the same question two years ago, she would have come up with some answer that wasn't exactly the truth, but not an all out lie. Then she was still so conscious about how people viewed her. Now, she knew she was a good person, but Alex's opinion meant a lot to her for some reason. "I joined the unit to find my father," Olivia finally responded.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked, thoroughly confused.

"When my mother was in college she was attacked," Olivia explained. "She got pregnant and I was the result." Olivia had been looking down while she explained, but now she chanced a glance up at Alex. Instead of a look of disgust that she had been expecting for some reason, she saw a mixture of awe and admiration.

"So you joined to keep men like your father off the streets?"

"Pretty much, but then I realized I could also help the victims just as easily. Not being able to help one of them get justice for happened tore me up. While I do miss it, leaving the unit has been healthy for me," Olivia said.

As Alex was about to respond Jimmy came back out into the room. "Aunt Alex, can you read me and Livia and bedtime story?"

At first Alex looked confused. Why would she have to read a bedtime story to her five year old nephew and the woman sitting across from her? She glanced to Olivia for some help and noticed the amused look on the other woman's face.

"Not me, the lion," Olivia explained, motioning to the stuffed animal in Jimmy's arms. Alex looked back at her nephew and noticed the lioness dressed as a firefighter.

"This is Livia?" she asked Jimmy. He smiled and nodded to his Aunt. Alex smiled and turned back to Olivia. "I told you he adored you."

Olivia laughed and looked down to her watch and noticed that it was almost ten o'clock. "It's getting late, I think I should get going," She said.

Alex looked mildly disappointed. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I don't want to over stay my welcome," Olivia responded as she stood up. Alex quickly followed.

Jimmy looked at both women like they were stupid. He knew they both liked each other and he couldn't figure out why they hadn't said anything yet. He didn't want Olivia to leave yet. He liked her. A lot more than his aunt's other girlfriends. They either ignored him, treated him like a baby, or just weren't very nice in general. Olivia didn't do any of that stuff. She actually talked to him, but like he was a little older than five and not a baby. Suddenly an idea came to him that might get her to stay. "Livia, you can't go. What if a bad guy tries to get Aunt Alex and me?"

Olivia crouched down so she was at his eye level. "I don't think that's gonna happen, little man. Besides you have Livia the Lion with you. Won't she protect you tonight?"

"My Livia will keep me safe, but you have to be Aunt Alex's Livia and keep her safe," Jimmy explained.

Alex's face flushed in embarrassment at the way Jimmy had worded his statement. Olivia looked up at Alex trying to think of what to do. Finally she looked back at Jimmy. "Tell you what. If it's ok with your aunt, I'll stay on the couch and if she gets scared she can come and get me. Deal?"

"Deal," he responded. He then turned to Alex to see what her answer would be.

"You don't have to do that, you know?" Alex said to Olivia as she watched the lieutenant stand up. Truth was she didn't think she could take having this beautiful woman in her apartment much longer without attempting to make a move.

"Yes she does," Jimmy answered, causing Olivia to laugh.

"Apparently I do," she responded. "It's fine really. Like I said earlier, I'm out of work for a couple of weeks and I have nothing better to do."

Alex sighed as Jimmy smiled. "Ok, just let me get him to bed and I'll get you a pillow and blanket." She took a hold of Jimmy's hand and made her way down the hallway. The woman she was slowly falling in love with was going to be sleeping just a few feet away from her. This was going to be a long night.


	5. Chapter 5

For disclaimers please see chapter one.

**A/N **I just want to take a minute to thank everyone who has read and taken the time to review. So, thank you, and keep reading.

* * *

Olivia lay on the couch, wide awake. She had fallen asleep for maybe two hours before waking up from a rather vivid dream including the blonde woman sleeping down the hall. After that she had been unable to sleep. Looking at the clock again, Olivia saw that it was still only six in the morning. Giving up on going back to sleep, Olivia decided she would get up. Thankful that she kept an emergency bag in her car, full of a spare set of clothes and things to use if she wanted to go for a jog, she started to see if she could find a spare set of keys, knowing she couldn't just leave. She found the keys on the table in the entry way. Olivia picked them up and left the apartment.

About an hour later, Alex also gave up on sleep. She was able to get around three hours of sleep. However, she kept contemplating how adolescent it would be to tell the lieutenant she was scared and asking to be held. She had complete faith she would be completely safe in Olivia's arms, but fear wouldn't be the real reason she wanted to be in them.

Pulling herself out of bed, Alex made her way to the shower. She came out feeling a little better than before, more awake if anything. Alex donned her usual business attire. Feeling more in control of herself, she exited her room. She hoped Olivia was awake so they talk some more before Jimmy was up.

When she entered the living room, Alex was surprised to see the couch empty with the blanket folded at one end and the pillow stacked on top of that. She went into the kitchen to see if Olivia was in there in was disappointed to find it empty. She was also a little mad. Why would she sneak out like that? She couldn't have been called in. She said herself that she is off work for a week or so until her ankle is better. Before Alex could go any further into her internal rant, she heard the sound of a key in the lock.

She walked into the entry way just as the door was opening. She saw Olivia walk in with a gym bag slung over her shoulder, a holder with three Styrofoam cups in one hand, a set of keys in the other, and a bag of something hanging from her mouth. Alex thought the sight was kind of adorable, if she would be honest. She watched in amusement as Olivia turned around, raising her eyebrow in a silent question.

When Olivia saw Alex standing there, she momentarily froze. Composing herself, she dropped the keys on the table, took the bag out of her mouth, and gave Alex a sheepish looking smile. "Sorry about that," Olivia said. "I was up early and didn't want to wake anyone so I went for a jog and decided to pick up breakfast on the way back. I borrowed a spare set of keys to let myself back in. Hope you don't mind."

Alex smiled. "Well that all depends on what's in the bag," she told Olivia.

"I wasn't sure what you two usually had in the morning, so I picked up some bagels along with some cream cheese," Olivia said, returning the smile. "I also got coffee for the two of us and Jimmy a hot chocolate for when he wakes up. I wasn't sure how you take your coffee so everything is on the side, but next time I should be able to get it right."

_Next time?_ Alex thought to herself excitedly. The fact that the lieutenant was thinking about a next also, made her stomach flip. Taking the coffee from Olivia, they made their way into the kitchen. "Well then, for future reference, one cream and two sugars."

Olivia was about to respond when the kitchen door opened again, allowing a tired looking Jimmy to enter. "Morning," he told them sleepily, as if Olivia being there was a common occurrence.

"Morning, Jimmy," Alex greeted with a smile. "Do you want a bagel and some hot chocolate before you have to go with Olivia to see her friend today?"

Jimmy yawned and nodded his head. He still wasn't awake enough to respond verbally.

Olivia laughed quietly and set his breakfast in front of him. "Here you go, little man. Be careful though. Your hot chocolate is probably still pretty hot."

Alex smiled. She liked watching the two of them together, even if Jimmy was only half awake. "What time are you planning on taking him to see the sketch artist?" Alex asked.

Olivia turned back to Alex. "I thought I would take him around nine. That way I know I can get in to see him," Olivia responded. She checked her watch to see the time and noticed is was almost eight. "Do you mind if I take a shower?"

"No, go right ahead," Alex responded. "Towels are in the cupboard in the bathroom."

Olivia nodded her thanks and left the kitchen. Alex turned back to her nephew and watched put the last of his bagel in his mouth. He was looking at her with a curious expression on his face. Swallowing, he asked his aunt a question. "Can Olivia be my aunt too now?"

Alex laughed. "I don't know about that buddy."

"Why not?" he asked. "You already told me you like her."

"Well, first it's not that simple. Just because I like her doesn't mean that we are dating," she explained. "Second, I don't know how she feels."

"She likes you too," he told her while playing with his cup.

"How do you know that?" she asked with an amused smile.

"Cause I asked her and she told me right after I said that you like her," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Alex's eyes went wide with shock. It was one thing to hint at her growing feelings for the lieutenant, but it was quite another for someone to come right out and tell Olivia that Alex was attracted to her. She began to feel nervous. Just because her five year old nephew said that Olivia liked her too didn't mean that it was true. Just then Olivia came back into the kitchen looking showered, refreshed and ready for the day. Alex began to feel awkward.

"Umm…I need to get going. Will you two be alright? Call me if you need anything," she rambled. She walked out of the kitchen leaving a confused lieutenant and an oblivious five year old in her wake.

"Is she ok?" Olivia asked Jimmy.

"She will be," Jimmy shrugged.

Olivia laughed. "You ready to go meet my friend?" Jimmy nodded. "Alright, let's go get your stuff and we can get out of here."

Jimmy ran out to get his jacket and they made their way out of the apartment and down to the precinct.


	6. Chapter 6

For disclaimers please see chapter one.

* * *

Olivia and Jimmy arrived at the precinct just before nine and went in search of the sketch artist Olivia knew, Shane Brown. They found him sitting at his desk working on some random doodle. Olivia walked up behind him and saw that he was drawing random caricatures of people involved with the legal system. The current doodle was one of District Attorney Arthur Branch.

"If that's how you see Branch, I hope you never saw the inspiration to draw me," Olivia said, causing Shane to jump and Jimmy to laugh. Shane looked over his shoulder and glared at her.

"Da…darn it, Benson," he started, but corrected when he caught Olivia's glare as she pointed to Jimmy. "I thought you were supposed to lose that whole stealth thing when you quit the force."

"Nah, seems mine just got better," she quipped. "I have a customer here for you."

He looked over to Jimmy. "And what can I do for you, kiddo?" He asked Jimmy, clearly trying to act like he worked with kids all the time.

"I sposed to tell you about the bad guy who hurt Melanie," Jimmy told him with an expression that Olivia would have classified as 'Duh.'

Shane smiled at him. "Ok then. Why don't you sit right there while I get my stuff ready?" he told Jimmy, motioning to the chair next to his desk. "Then we can go ahead and get started."

Olivia helped Jimmy into the seat while Shane got what he needed. "You ready to do this little man?" Olivia asked him. Jimmy nodded. "Just tell Shane what the man you saw looked like, alright?" Then when we're done here I'll take you to get some lunch and then to your Aunt."

Jimmy smiled and nodded again. He turned to Shane and they started the sketch. The whole process took a little over two hours. Jimmy made Shane start over a few times because he had drawn something wrong. All Olivia could do was stifle a laugh and wonder if Alex was that big a perfectionist. When they were finally done, Shane turned and looked up at Olivia. "I'll put some finishing touches on this and then send it over to the precinct," he told her. He then went back to his work as Olivia and Jimmy walked out of the door.

"Can we ask Aunt Alex to come with us?" Jimmy asked as he took hold of Olivia's hand.

"Sure," Olivia smiled. "Do you know her number?"

"Yeah, she gave me one of her cards," he explained. He started to dig through his pockets and finally came up with a folded and crumpled piece of cardboard. "Here you go."

Olivia almost laughed at the state of the card. She pulled out her phone and dialed the number for the office.

Alex, for her part, was not having a very good day at all. After the awkward parting from this morning, a certain dark haired, dark eyed, firefighter had been on her mind all morning. Getting to work, she realized she had a mountain of paperwork to take care. On top of that, she found out that she would not be able to prosecute the arson/rape case that brought Olivia into her life because she was "too close to the situation" to remain objective. Some ADA from White Collar whom she had never met was going to take it. Alex could only imagine how well this ADA would be able to handle the case. She was supposed to meet with her after lunch. She was just starting to think what she wanted to do for lunch when her phone rang.

"Cabot," Alex responded automatically.

"Hello to you too, Counselor," Olivia replied with a smile.

"Hello, Lieutenant. What can I do for you?" Alex was smiling also. Something about Olivia Benson seemed to brighten her mood. If she ever figured out what it was she would definitely market it.

"Well Jimmy and I were just about to grab some lunch and we were wondering if you'd like to join us?"

"That would be a great idea," Alex responded. "Where did you have in mind?"

"Umm, hold on just a second," Olivia placed her hand over the mouthpiece of her phone and turned to Jimmy. "Hey little man, what do you want for lunch?" she asked him.

"Pizza!" he replied excitedly, jumping up and down a little with the answer.

Olivia smiled and turned back to her phone conversation. "How about that little pizza place that isn't too far from the courthouse?"

"Sounds perfect. I could meet you there in about thirty minutes."

"Sounds good. We'll put the order in and it should be ready by the time you get here," Olivia told her. They said their goodbyes and Olivia hung up. Still holding Jimmy's hand, they made their way for the pizza place.

Once inside, Olivia asked Jimmy what he wanted on his pizza. He responded with pepperoni, mushrooms, and onion. She placed the order and they went to find a booth. Olivia got Jimmy situated and was about to sit down herself when she heard someone calling her name.

"Olivia?"

She turned to see Casey Novak entering the pizzeria. "Hey Casey. How's it going?" Olivia asked her friend.

"Right now, they are a little hectic, but things will get better this weekend," Casey smiled. Olivia looked at her, asking a silent question. "I have Monday off so I am flying down to D.C. for the weekend," she explained.

Olivia smiled this time. "How's Abbie doing? I've been so busy, I haven't been able to call her in weeks."

"She's good. We're still not too happy about the distance, but we're making it work," Casey said. "Right now though I have to get back to the office and get ready for a meeting with an ADA that has been nicknamed 'the Ice Queen.' To be honest I'm a little scared."

"Ice Queen?"

Casey nodded. "Apparently that is the nickname Alexandra Cabot has picked up for herself."

Jimmy had been sitting quietly in the booth, being polite and letting the grown-ups talk. When he heard his aunt's name though, he had to speak up. "What's an Ice Queen?" He asked.

Looking through her briefcase, not paying attention to who asked the question or Olivia's warning looks, Casey answered like she would any other person. "An Ice Queen is someone who will chop off the balls of a perp and then serve them to him on a silver platter during court, all with a smile on her face."

Jimmy's face scrunched up in thought. "Aunt Alex isn't like that."

Casey's eyes went wide when she heard the word "aunt" and she finally looked around Olivia and saw the little boy sitting in the booth. "Um, Liv, why don't you introduce me to your little friend?" Casey said nervously.

Olivia smiled. "Casey, this is Jimmy Cabot. Jimmy, this is my friend Casey Novak."

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Novak," Jimmy said, holing out his hand. Casey took it and smiled.

"Nice to meet you too, Jimmy. But please, call me Casey."

"Ok, Casey," he said with a smile. He liked being able to call adults by their first names. It made him feel more grown up. "Why do you have to meet with Aunt Alex?"

"I'm guessing I'm going to take over the case that you are the main witness on. Rumor has it you were able to give a pretty good description." Casey told him. Jimmy gave a proud smile at the praise. "Which reminds me, I really should be getting back to the office. We'll have to get together sometime this week. Give me a call and we can set something up," Casey told her. She stepped forward and gave the lieutenant a hug. She then walked out of the pizzeria, in the direction of the D.A.'s office, not seeing the blond woman just outside of the door.

Alex had just been about to enter the pizzeria when she witnessed the embrace. An unrecognizable surge of jealousy shot through her at the sight. Seeing the red head making her way to the exit, she stepped aside, allowing her the room to leave. Without thinking, she stormed inside and over to the table. "Come on Jimmy, we have to leave," she said, barely sparing Olivia a glance.

"But Aunt Alex, the pizza isn't here yet," he complained.

"I'll have something delivered at the office. I just realized I have too much work to do at the office," she explained.

"I don't mind watching him for a little while longer Alex," Olivia said, confused by the attitude from the blonde.

"No thank you Lieutenant," she said curtly. "That won't be necessary. We've taken up enough of your time already."

"You sure?"

"Very."

"Ok then," she said. "Here is my card. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me."

Alex couldn't bring herself to take it, so Jimmy reached up and grabbed it out of Olivia's hand. "Thanks Livia. I'll keep it safe, just like Aunt Alex's," he told her.

"Yes, thank you, Lieutenant, but we really must be going." She took Jimmy's hand and started to walk out of the restaurant, leaving a very confused Olivia Benson in her wake.


	7. Chapter 7

For disclaimers please see chapter one

* * *

Alex walked back into her office a few minutes later. She was angry now. Not with Olivia and not with the other woman. No, she was angry with herself. She had no business reacting the way she did. Olivia wasn't her girlfriend. As much as she wanted it, that wasn't true so she had no right getting jealous. She probably just ruined any shot she might have had. She sat down at her desk, put her head in her hands, and sighed heavily. She was suddenly jolted back to her to the present by a light tug on her arm and she remembered the presence of her nephew.

"Aunt Alex, can I have my coloring book please?" he asked her. Alex sighed and reached into her bottom drawer to take out the coloring book and crayons she kept for when Jimmy had to stay with her in her office. He took them and went to sit on the couch. After a few minutes he looked back at his aunt. "Aunt Alex?" he called.

"Yes Jimmy?" Alex asked.

"Why are you mad at Livia?" he asked her. He didn't understand what was going on at the pizzeria, but he knew when Alex was mad. He had seen it enough times.

Alex sighed. "I'm not mad at Olivia, Jimmy," she told him. "I shouldn't have acted the way I did."

"Do you not like her anymore?"

"No, I still like her," Alex told him with a sad smile. She saw that Jimmy was about to respond when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," she called out.

The door opened and a young man carrying a box and a small bag walked in. "Alexandra Cabot?"

Alex nodded. The young man walked over to her desk and placed the pizza box down along with two plates, forks, a knife, napkins, a small bottle of root beer for Jimmy, and a small bottle of diet coke for Alex. Placing down the last item the young man gave Alex a nod and walked out.

Alex looked at everything on her desk and noticed the note attached to the pizza box.

__

Alex

I'm not exactly sure what happened and I'm sorry if I've done anything to offend or upset you. Neither of you should skip lunch for a mistake I may have made. I wasn't sure on the drinks. Enjoy your lunch.

Olivia

"Damn it," Alex thought to herself. Olivia had done nothing wrong, yet she interpreted the situation like she had. Then she sends over lunch for her and her nephew as an apology. Could the woman be any more perfect? "Jimmy, do you still want some pizza?" Alex asked. She'd figure out how to fix her love life later.

"Yes, please," he said. He put his coloring book down on the table along with his crayons and walked over to the desk. Alex handed him a plate with a piece of pizza and his root beer. He walked back to the couch and sat down.

He sat and ate for a few moments before he looked at Alex again. "Aunt Alex, if you're not mad at Livia and you still like her, then are you mad at Casey?"

"Casey?" Alex asked him. She had no idea who he was talking about.

"Yeah, Livia's friend Casey. That was the lady who was hugging Livia," he told her.

"And she's just a friend?" She asked him. She couldn't believe she was getting information like this from her five year old nephew.

"Yeah," Jimmy nodded while studying his pizza. "Olivia asked her about her girlfriend. Casey said she lives in D.C."

"Ugghh," Alex groaned, putting her head in her hands once more. Before she could ask anything else, there was another knock on her door. "Come in," Alex called, not bothering to take her head out of her hands.

"Ms. Cabot?" asked an unfamiliar voice.

Alex picked up her head and looked at her door way. Standing there was none other than the woman she had seen giving Olivia a hug. "Yes," Alex responded. "And you must be…"

"Hi Casey!" Jimmy greeted.

Casey looked over to the couch. She smiled when she saw Jimmy. "Hey Jimmy. I thought you were having lunch with Liv?" Casey looked at him with a confused smile. Jimmy just shrugged in response and continued to eat his lunch. She then turned to Alex with the same expression.

Knowing that Casey would deserve to know, even though she didn't know why yet, Alex sighed. "Why don't we get this case out of the way and then I'll explain," Alex told her. Casey nodded and they got down to business. Alex briefed Casey on everything about the murdering arsonist/rapist that she knew, including what her nephew had seen. When they were done Alex looked at Casey with a pensive expression on her face. "How exactly do you know Liv?" She asked.

With barely a pause, Casey responded. "I'm dating her best friend. Sure we tried dating back in the day, but we both decided we were much better friends and she set me up with Abbie. It's long distance at the moment, but we're dealing with it," Casey explained. "Why do you ask?"

"This would be so much easier if the two of you were still dating," Alex sighed again. "I guess I'll just start from the beginning. I'm kind of falling in love with her."

"Olivia does have that affect on people," Casey said with an amused expression. "Why exactly is that a problem?"

"It's a problem because I saw the two of you hug, got insanely jealous, and was kind of a bitch to her earlier. I'm not usually like that. It's just that I've been so stressed out lately with my current case load, all of the paper, the fire, Jimmy being the key witness, and now this thing, or lack thereof, with Olivia, I snapped and at the wrong person," Alex explained. "And then she goes and sends us over lunch, apologizing for messing up when she didn't do anything wrong. This would be so much easier if I knew exactly how she felt."

"She likes you," Jimmy sing-songed from the couch. Both women looked at him and had to laugh. He was now sitting on the floor in front of the couch with his coloring book again, pizza to one side, face full of concentration, almost like he had never spoken.

Casey turned back to Alex. "You know if he says it then it's probably true," Casey told her.

"Why is that?" Alex asked.

"I've known Liv for a while now and she has never, and probably will never, lie to a child. I'm also guessing that he came right out and asked her about it."

"He did. He told me over breakfast this morning. I think that is another thing that is getting to me. I mean I know she likes me too, but she hasn't done anything yet." Alex reflected on what she just said and laughed. "God, I sound like I'm in high school again."

Casey gave her a sympathetic smile. "Tell you what," she said while standing and gathering her things. "Why don't I see if I can run a little damage control and also try and see if I can figure out exactly how she feels?"

"You would do that?" Alex asked.

"Sure. My case load was passed off to other people so I could focus on this case and without a suspect the most I can do is review files for now, which is something I can do anywhere. Including a certain lieutenant's apartment," Casey said. "Usually when Liv is confused or upset about something she works out. With her ankle being a little tender still, she's not going to be able to go for a jog, so she is probably doing some kind of workout in her apartment."

Alex smiled and felt slightly flushed at the thought of a sweaty, half naked Olivia. Casey caught the expression and sighed. Alex really did have it bad. "Stay out of Olivia-land for about five more minutes Alex," Casey said in mock exasperation while she wrote something down. "This is Liv's address. Why don't you meet me at the café down the street from there at about six and I can tell you what I found out? Then you can make the next move from there."

Alex took the piece of paper and smiled. "Thank you for helping with this Casey," she told her sincerely.

"Hey, it's not a problem," Casey replied. "Olivia deserves to be happy and I have a feeling this could be a really good thing."

"I hope you're right," Alex told her.

"I am," "She is," Alex heard simultaneously from her new friend and from her nephew. She laughed as she watched Casey walk out of the office. She sat back and hoped that the rest of her day would go better than it had up to this point.


	8. Chapter 8

For disclaimers please see chapter one.

* * *

Olivia had gone home shortly after sending the pizza to Alex. All throughout the walk, she had tried to figure out why Alex and acted the way she did. She couldn't think of anything she had done to upset her. She also didn't think anything Jimmy might have let slip would make her upset, if everything he told Olivia was true. She finally concluded that Alex was having a bad day and was possibly under a lot of stress from work. Hopefully the lunch she had sent over would make her day a little bit better.

Thinking of lunch, Olivia sighed again. She had finally decided that she was going to bite the bullet and see if Jimmy was right about his aunt's feelings by suggesting a date. If it would make it better they could do something that could include Jimmy, seeing as though it seems to be the little guy's mission in getting the two of them together. Olivia smiled to herself as she thought of the five year old as cupid reincarnate.

Olivia was feeling a large amount of nervous energy and she needed to find a way to deal with. Knowing she couldn't go for a jog or rock wall climbing like she usually would thanks to her ankle, she opted for some standard crunches and push-ups. Changing into a tank top and track pants, Olivia set about taking care of some of her energy. She was just beginning her third set and starting to grow tired when heard her phone ring.

"Benson," Olivia answered.

"You're still on leave. You're not allowed to answer the phone like that for another week," Casey teased.

"Sorry, force of habit," Olivia laughed. "So what's up?"

"Nothing," Casey said. "Just wondering if it would be ok if I came by. I just realized that you happen to be a witness in this case and I have a few questions for you." Casey smiled to herself. She knew what case Olivia would be thinking about, but she never specified which case. And Olivia was one of the material witnesses in the case of Benson v. Cabot. She just hoped that Liv would be able to talk to her about Alex and she wouldn't shut down like she normally did.

"Sure," Olivia replied. "Don't know how much help I'm gonna be, but I'll answer whatever questions you've got."

"Great," Casey said. She looked at the clock and saw that it was already a quarter to five. "I'll be there in about twenty minutes?"

"Sounds good, Case. I'll see you then." She hung up and decided she had better get in the shower.

Exactly twenty minutes later, showered and dressed, Olivia heard a knock on her door.

"It's open," she called out. She made her way to the kitchen as Casey stepped into the apartment.

"You know it's not safe to leave your door unlocked in this city," Casey called out.

"It is when you're still licensed to carry," Olivia quipped back as she came back into the living room with a beer in each hand. "Take a load off counselor and let's get business out of the way," she motioned to either the chair or a spot on the couch. Casey set her briefcase down on the coffee table and decided to sit in the chair, leaving Olivia with a spot on the couch. "So how can I help?"

"First I have to tell you that I got myself in here under false pretences," Casey started. At Olivia's confused look, she continued to explain. "Well the case I need to discuss with you isn't exactly the one involving Jimmy, but Alex herself."

"Alex? Is she ok? What happened?" Olivia asked, growing worried.

"Alex is fine physically, but a certain Ladder Company 28 Lieutenant has her in an emotional turmoil."

"What do you mean? I didn't do anything," Olivia exclaimed.

Casey had to stifle a laugh. "Liv, you don't have to do anything. Just being yourself is enough to make most girls fall for you. Alex has known you for less than a week and she told me at our meeting that she is in real danger of falling," she explained calmly. "We had a very interesting conversation during that meeting."

"Did you happen to figure out why she was in a bad mood when she met Jimmy and me for lunch" Olivia asked curiously.

"Actually, yes she did," Casey said. "She saw the two of hugging, she got jealous, and now she thinks you think she's crazy and won't have anything to do with her."

Olivia laughed. "You mean I sent that apology over for nothing?"

Casey nodded. "Don't worry though, she thinks you're even more perfect because of it. But I'm not exactly here to explain her actions, she can do that later," she explained. "I'm here about the whole 'having anything to do with her' thing."

Olivia understood what she meant. "So it's your job to find out how I feel about her, so she doesn't make a fool out of herself if I don't feel the same way?"

"Pretty much," Casey responded. "How do you feel?"

"Honestly?" Olivia asked. Casey gave an encouraging nod. "I think I'm falling too. She's passionate about her work and genuinely cares about the victims. She's more interested in getting justice than her win/loss ratio. She's great with kids. I guess if we ever got a chance to actually be together, this could be it." Olivia shrugged like there was nothing she could do about it.

Casey smiled and was about to respond when there was another knock on the door. Olivia hadn't been expecting anyone else to come over. She got up and went to the door and looked out the peephole. Not seeing anyone, Olivia's brows furrowed in confusion as she opened the door. She was greeted to the sight of an eager looking Jimmy standing in the hallway.

"Hi, Livia," he said excitedly. At the sound of the familiar voice, Casey came to stand in the entry way also.

"Jimmy, what in the world are you doing here by yourself?" Olivia asked him.

Jimmy had a feeling Olivia was mad at him now. She had called him Jimmy instead of "Little man" and she had never called him Jimmy in the few days they had known each other. "I'm sorry," told her sadly. "Casey told Aunt Alex to meet her at the café next door and I got bored. I told Aunt Alex I was gonna go potty, but I came here instead. Please don't be mad at me," he pleaded with her. He was almost crying at the thought that Olivia would yell at him.

Olivia's heart nearly broke at the sight. She looked over to Casey who immediately knew what she needed to do. "I am going to meet Alex and let her know she has an escape artist on her hands. I'll call you when we are finished," Casey said as she got her things together. She made her way to the door.

"Thanks, Casey," Olivia called as the other woman left. As the door shut, she turned her attention back to the timid looking five year old, still looking at her with unshed tears. She crouched down so she could look him in the eye. "I'm not mad at you, little man. Just promise me that you won't go anywhere by yourself again ok?" She told him with a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

Jimmy nodded his head vigorously. He threw his arms around Olivia's neck and buried his face in the crook where her shoulder meets the neck, allowing a few of the tears to fall. "I promise I won't," he told her, crying a little bit more, although now it was more from relief that Olivia wasn't mad at him.

Olivia stood up, picking Jimmy up with her. She started rubbing his back and whispering soothing words to try and make him feel better. When he had calmed down he pulled away a little to look her in the eye. "Are you sure you're not mad?" he asked her, still a little uncertain.

Olivia laughed a little and took one of her hands to wipe away some of the tears. "I'm not mad," she promised as she placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. "I was just a little surprised to see you outside my door."

She still held him in her arms as she walked into the kitchen. Letting down at the table, she walked over to the cupboards. "Are you hungry, little man? I could make some soup," she said as she pulled out some chicken noodle soup.

"Can we eat it while we watch Sponge Bob?" Jimmy asked.

"Sure," Olivia told him. "But then I think you should lie down in the spare room. You've had a long day, little man."

"Do I have to?" Jimmy whined.

"Yep," Olivia chuckled.

"Fine," he said, sporting the classic five year old pout face. It didn't last long though before it turned into a smug smile that went unnoticed by Olivia. He remembered that now his aunt would have to come talk to Olivia after she was done talking to Casey.

Meanwhile, down at the café, Casey was slowly scanning the tables for Alex. Spotting her near the back, staring into a cup of coffee, Casey made her way over. "Did you know your nephew is a little escape artist?" Casey asked as she sat down, startling the blonde out of her thoughts.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked after regaining her composure. "He just went to the bathroom."

"Actually," Casey smirked, "he went to see Olivia."

Alex groaned. "You're not serious."

Casey nodded. "Don't worry though. He was so scared that Liv was mad at him that I think that might have been punishment enough."

The waitress came over and took Casey's coffee order. Alex looked at her, waiting for her to tell her what happened in Olivia's apartment. "Well?" she asked.

"Well what?" Casey smirked.

"Are you gonna tell me what you two talked about or not?"

"You have nothing to worry about," Casey said. "She feels the same. Now, do you want to get something to eat here before you go get your woman and collect your nephew?"

Alex thought about it. She hadn't actually eaten lunch. She was too upset over the way she had behaved and she was hungry now. "Why don't we grab a bite and I'll go pick him up in an hour or so?" Alex suggested. Casey nodded and they asked the waitress for a couple of menus. An hour and a half later, Casey and Alex said their goodbyes and Alex made her way to the apartment building next door.

Olivia smiled to herself as she carried Jimmy to the spare bedroom. He had barely made it through his soup when he started to grow drowsy. She came back out into the living room and was cleaning up the remains of dinner when the third knock of the evening sounded on her door. She had a pretty good feeling who this was going to be.

She opened the door to see a nervous looking Alex Cabot standing there. Alex might know how Olivia felt, but Casey hadn't told her how Olivia had reacted to the reasons behind her behavior at lunch. "Before you say anything," Alex started, "I think I have to explain a few things."

Knowing this probably meant a lot to Alex, Olivia nodded and stepped aside to give Alex room to enter her apartment. After closing and locking the door, Olivia led Alex into the living room. "Coffee?" she offered.

"Yes, please," Alex responded as she took a seat on one side of the sofa. She watched as Olivia went into the kitchen. A few minutes later Olivia came back with two cups of coffee in hand. She handed one to Alex and sat down at the other end of the sofa. Alex took a sip of hers and smiled. It was made exactly how she liked it.

Setting her cup down on the table, Alex turned to Olivia who was waiting patiently for Alex to begin. "First," she started looking around, noticing a very important thing was missing, "where is Jimmy?"

Olivia smiled. "He started to fall asleep right after dinner while we were watching Sponge Bob so I put him in the guest room," Olivia explained.

Alex nodded and gave her a thankful smile. "I want to apologize for my behavior this afternoon. It so adolescent and you didn't do anything to deserve it," she said calmly.

Olivia smiled. "It's ok," she told her. "I was actually kind of flattered. I've never had anyone get jealous over me before."

"You're kidding right?" Alex asked, dumbfounded.

"Believe it or not, but I just found out that I'm kind of a heart breaker," Olivia said, giving Alex a lopsided grin. Alex was quickly becoming aware that that particular grin was a Benson trademark. "Casey had to tell me."

Alex stood up and began to pace nervously. "It's just that…I don't normally act like that," she sighed. "But then again I don't think I've ever felt like this before. I know it's too soon to be using certain words, I mean we haven't even had a first date yet but I can't help it, and I feel like it is just happening so fast."

Olivia stood up and placed a hand gently on Alex's arm, stopping her pacing. "Hey, it's ok," she told her. "I probably would have reacted the same way if I saw you with someone else."

"Really?" Alex asked.

"Yes, really," Olivia smiled, slipping her arms around Alex's waist while Alex placed her arms around Olivia's neck. "Alex, we can take this as slow as you want. I've messed up good things before by rushing it and I really don't want to mess this up."

"I want that too, Liv," Alex sighed.

"And as for the first date thing, have dinner with me tomorrow night?" Olivia asked

Alex smiled. "What about Jimmy?"

"If you don't want to find a sitter at such short notice, we'll take him with us," Olivia responded. "We kind of owe it to him. He's been working hard to get us together."

Alex laughed. "I wouldn't doubt it if he came over here just so I would have to talk to you after Casey met me at the café." Alex yawned. It had been a long stressful day.

"Come on," Olivia said as she took her hands from Alex's waist, grabbed her hand, and led her to the bedroom.

"What are we doing?" Alex asked.

"You're tired, it's late, Jimmy's already asleep here, and you're sleeping in here," Olivia explained as they entered the bedroom. She grabbed a pair of yoga pants and an old t-shirt out of her dresser and gave them to Alex. "You can wear these. The bathroom is just down the hall if you want to take a shower. There's an extra toothbrush in the medicine cabinet. If you need me, I'll be on the couch."

"Liv, I can't kick you out of your bed," Alex protested.

"You're not kicking me out," Olivia smiled. "I am offering it freely."

"Well, why can't we share?" Alex asked.

Olivia's nostrils flared. "You're sure?" Alex nodded. She would love nothing more than to fall asleep in Olivia's arms tonight. "Alright. Just let me make sure everything is locked up and we can go to sleep."

Alex took her turn in the bathroom while Olivia locked up the apartment and cleaning up the coffee mugs. After she had taken her turn getting ready for bed, Olivia came back in the bedroom to see Alex had already fallen asleep. She smiled at the sight. Climbing into her side of the bed, Olivia watched in wonder as Alex unconsciously moved in her sleep to snuggle into Olivia's side. Wrapping her arm around the blonde, Olivia drifted off to sleep with a content smile on her face.


	9. Chapter 9

For disclaimers, please see chapter 1

* * *

Jimmy woke up during the night, tears streaming down his face. He couldn't remember what his dream had been about, but he knew it was scary and that he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. He started to look around for his Livia when he remembered where he was. He got out of bed and went in search of the real Olivia.

Walking down the hallway, Jimmy found the other bedroom. When he looked at the bed he already felt a little better. He could see the top of Alex's head peeking out from under the covers. She had her back to Olivia with Olivia's arm wrapped around her from behind.

Jimmy walked over Olivia's side of the bed. He knew Alex could get a little grumpy when she woke up, he hoped Olivia would be ok with it. He climbed on the foot of the bed and gently shook Olivia's foot. "Livia," he whispered. "Livia."

Olivia slowly woke up, thanks to the subtle shaking of her foot. The first thing she realized was Alex was there. She smiled when she realized her arm was wrapped around the blonde. Olivia also noticed that her foot was still shaking. Looking down at the foot of the bed, she saw Jimmy sitting there. It was obvious he had been crying. "Hey little man," she said, her voice thick with sleep. "What's the matter?"

"I had a bad dream," he told her. "Can I sleep in here?"

Olivia smiled and slowly rolled over on to her back, so as not to disturb Alex. "Come here," she said to Jimmy. Jimmy quickly crawled up the bed and positioned himself on one side of Olivia at the same time that Alex rolled over and took up residence on her other side. Olivia laughed quietly. She had a sleeping or nearly sleeping Cabot lying on each shoulder. Jimmy quickly fell back asleep. The only thought Olivia had before joining him was _thank God I don't have to pee_.

A few hours later, thanks to an internal alarm clock, Alex woke up, even though it was a Saturday. She had had the most amazing dream. Olivia had asked her to stay and they spent the night in each other's arms. Sighing at the fact that it was only a dream, Alex furrowed her brow in confusion when she realized her pillow was moving. Raising her head, Alex smiled when she realized it wasn't a dream. The next thing she noticed was her nephew beginning to stir on the other side of the lieutenant. At first she was confused as to why he was there, but couldn't dwell on it when she saw how adorable the two of them cuddled looked.

Jimmy opened his eyes and looked at Alex. She held her finger to her lips, signaling him to stay quiet, and motioned for him to follow her out of the room. She led him out to the living room and they sat down on the couch, Jimmy in Alex's lap. "Hey, buddy. You ok?" She asked him, trying to figure out why he moved during the night.

Jimmy nodded. "I had a bad dream, but Livia made it better," he said.

"Why didn't you come to me?" Alex asked him. She wasn't mad at him or hurt. She was glad that he felt comfortable enough to go to Olivia with something like that. She was just curious.

"You get kinda grumpy when you hafta wake up early," Jimmy smiled.

Alex chuckled quietly. "I do, don't I?" she said right before she kissed his forehead. He nodded and laid his head on her shoulder. "You want to help me make breakfast?"

Jimmy nodded again. "Can we bring it to Livia in bed?" He asked.

"I think we can do that," Alex smiled. "Come on, let's go see what we can find." They went into the kitchen to see what Olivia had as far as breakfast foods. After a few moments of browsing they finally decided on French toast, eggs, coffee for the grownups, and orange juice for Jimmy. While Alex made the eggs and watched him very closely, Jimmy got to flip the French toast. Jimmy was very proud of the fact that Alex never had to tell him when to flip it, and it was all the way cooked.

Finishing with their tasks, Alex poured the drinks and they put everything on a tray. Walking carefully back to the bedroom, Jimmy in the lead, Alex carried the tray with breakfast and the drinks. Jimmy opened the door and quietly walked over to the bed and climbed up just like he had during the night. Shaking her foot once again, Jimmy woke Olivia up.

The first thing Olivia noticed when she woke up was she was no longer a pillow for the two sleeping Cabots. Next she smelled the coffee. Raising her head and squinting against the bright light of the room, Olivia saw Alex standing by the door with a tray in her hands and Jimmy sitting by her feet smiling at her.

"Wake up, Livia, we made breakfast," he told her excitedly.

Sitting up as Alex came all the way into the room and set the tray on the bed, Olivia looked at both of them. "What's all this?" she asked smiling.

"Think of it as a thank you for letting us stay here last night," Alex replied, returning the smile.

"Anytime," Olivia said. They sat down on the bed, eating there breakfast, while Jimmy told them all about making the French toast as if Alex hadn't even been there. It seemed he had a ten minute story behind each one even though it only took about five minutes to make.

"Jimmy you need to eat so we can get ready to go home," Alex told him with an amused expression.

"Do I hafta?" Jimmy whined. "Why can't I stay here with Livia?"

"I would love to have you stay here, little man, but I have to go into the station house today and get a couple things taken care of."

"But you're going to see her later today anyway," Alex told him quickly.

"Really?" he asked with a bright smile on his face.

Alex nodded. She then turned to face Olivia. "I never actually gave you an answer to your invitation last night, but would you mind if we took him with us?" She asked hesitantly.

"Nope," Olivia smiled. "I actually have a pretty good idea of what we can do now. Can I pick you up at two?"

"Yeah that would be great," Alex replied. "Since you're probably not going to tell me where we're going could you let me know if there will be a dress code at least?"

Olivia laughed. "Casual and bring jackets," she told her. She then slid off the bed and started to gather the dishes. She refused to let Alex and Jimmy help with the clean up since they made breakfast. Instead, Alex changed out of Olivia's things and help Jimmy get cleaned up. They came back into the kitchen to let Olivia know they were leaving and that they would see her later. Smiling, Olivia finished cleaning up the kitchen and went to get ready to run a few errands.

Olivia arrived at the station house around nine o'clock. The first person she saw was Angie Barton. "Hey, Angie," she greeted. "How've you been?"

Angie looked almost shocked to see her. "Lieu! What are you doing here? You're still on leave until Wednesday."

"I know that, but I wanted to make sure that I wouldn't be buried under two weeks' worth of paperwork after being gone for two weeks," Olivia smiled. "Plus, I have about three hours to kill."

"Why? What's going on in three hours?" Angie asked.

"I have a date," Olivia explained, still smiling.

"No shit!" Angie exclaimed. "Who would have thought Lieutenant Olivia Benson has a social life? Who is she?"

"You remember the 'blonde bombshell,' as you guys dubbed her?"

"Seriously?" Angie asked in shock, eyes as wide as saucers.

Olivia grinned and nodded her head. "Anyway, back to why I'm here. I need the call out logs from the night of that fire up until now."

"Sure thing, Liv. I can have them for you in about ten minutes," Angie told her.

Olivia walked into the office and sat down, trying to organize what had piled up on her desk since she had been gone. Ten minutes later, Angie came in with the logs Olivia had asked for. She gave up trying to organize the desk and decided to enter the logs into the computer instead. It wasn't a requirement to do this, it just made it better for organizational purposes.

It took an hour and a half to get to the night of her injury. She entered the information for the call to Alex's building and then moved on to the one some of her crew had gone out just before. She was surprised to see only three names from her team on the call. She distinctly remembered four of them walking in that night. She shrugged it off, thinking it was some kind of mistake, but she would make sure to ask about it later.

She finished with the logs and went back to at least organizing the desk. When she had finally finished with that task, she looked at the clock and realized she had to pick Alex and Jimmy up in thirty minutes. Shutting down the computer, Olivia left and locked the office. She said goodbye to Angie and made her way to Alex's apartment.

Alex and Jimmy were almost ready when the knock came on the door, or rather Jimmy was ready and waiting patiently on the couch while Alex was putting the finishing touches on her hair and make-up.

"Aunt Alex, can I answer the door?" Jimmy asked.

"Yes, but make sure you ask who it is first," she yelled, knowing he wasn't tall enough to see out of the peephole.

Jimmy got off the couch and walked over to the door. "Who's there?" He called out.

Olivia smiled on the other side of the door. "Hey, little man. It's Olivia."

"Aunt Alex, Livia's here," he yelled out excitedly.

Alex chuckled as she walked out of her bedroom. "Go ahead and open the door, buddy."

Jimmy ran back over to the door, unlocked, and threw it open. "Hi, Livia," he smiled brightly.

"Hey, little man," she said, returning the smile. "You ready to go?"

"Yep," he replied. "Aunt Alex is…"

"Right here," Alex interrupted as she came into the entry way. "Hi," she said once she turned to Olivia.

"Hi, yourself, counselor," Olivia smiled. "Are we all set?"

"Yeah," Both Alex and Jimmy replied at the same time. "Are you going to tell us where we're going yet?" Alex asked.

"How about I tell you when we get in the car?" Olivia replied.

"Deal," Alex said.

They walked out of the apartment and made their way to Olivia's car. Alex smiled when she saw the child safety seat in the back. She looked at Olivia, raising a perfectly sculpted eyebrow in a silent question.

"I used to watch Elliot's kids when they were younger," Olivia explained with a shrug.

Olivia got Jimmy situated in the back and then walked over to open Alex's door for her. Smiling her thanks, Alex got in. Getting herself set in the driver's seat, Olivia started the car, pulled away from the car, and started on the way to their destination.

"I believe you were going to tell us what exactly our destination is, Lieutenant." Alex said with a grin on her face.

Not looking away from the road as she navigated the traffic, Olivia missed the smiles that lit up her companions faces as she replied, "How do you both feel about the zoo?" For the rest of the trip, Jimmy couldn't stay quiet about which animals he wanted to visit.

Thirty minutes later, Olivia pulled up outside of the zoo. Jimmy was so excited he almost didn't wait for Olivia to unbuckle him before he tried to jump out of his seat. Alex was just as excited, but she was better at containing it than her nephew. "So, how did you think to bring us here?" Alex asked, still wearing a smile that she was sure wouldn't be leaving for the rest of the day.

Olivia shrugged. "I figured it's something Jimmy won't get bored doing, you and I can walk and talk, and everybody loves the zoo," Olivia smiled.

"Come on you guys," Jimmy said as he gave an exasperated sigh. He moved back to the adults, grabbed their hands, and started to drag them to the entrance. The two women laughed and followed the overexcited five year old.

Once inside, Jimmy looked back at the grownups. "Can we go see the lions first? Ooo, then the giraffes. We gots to see the penguins too. Oh, we can't forget about the elephants."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down little man," Olivia laughed. "We'll get to all of those, I promise. Why don't we start with the first animal and work our way through the park, ok?"

"Ok," Jimmy sighed. "Can I at least feed the giraffes?"

"Sure," Alex replied. "As long as it's allowed." Jimmy smiled up at them both, grabbed a hand from each woman and led them to the first animals.

They made their way through the park at a steady pace. Alex and Olivia were able to keep conversation flowing between them, with only a few excited outbursts from Jimmy. Jimmy got really excited when they saw the lions and the elephants. He thought the penguins were pretty cool, but he was disappointed when they didn't try to escape like they did in one of his favorite movies. By the time they made it to the giraffes there was a zookeeper out, allowing people to feed the animals. Jimmy couldn't reach by himself so Olivia picked him up and put him on her shoulders. She handed him the food and he giggled when he felt the purple tongue graze his hand.

Instead of getting down after he was out of food, Jimmy pointed in the direction he wanted to go next. He was quite content to stay on Olivia's shoulders. Without really thinking about it, Olivia reached out and took Alex's hand in her own, entwining their fingers. Alex smiled at the unconscious gesture.

They finished the tour of the zoo just before closing. Stopping at the gift store on the way, Olivia made sure that everyone had a souvenir from the day. When they were back at the car she looked at her two companions. "Do you guys want to grab something to eat?"

"That would be great, thanks," Alex replied, very thankful for the offer. She wasn't ready for the day to end yet. It had probably been one of the most fun first dates she had been on. "Jimmy, what would you like for dinner?"

"Sgetti!" he said excitedly.

Olivia laughed and looked at Alex. "Now, are you actually going to eat with us this time, or am I going to have to send some to your apartment?" she teased.

"Ugghh," Alex groaned. "Am I ever going to live that down?"

"If it really bothers you, then I'll stop," Olivia told her sincerely. "But like I said yesterday, it was kind of flattering."

"I guess I deserve it a little bit," Alex smiled. "But don't get too used to it Lieutenant. And you can't seriously tell me no one has ever gotten jealous of you before." They got in the car and Olivia started in the direction of an Italian restaurant.

"They might have," Olivia shrugged, "but I don't think they cared enough about where the relationship was going to show it."

Alex smiled and reached for Olivia's hand that was closest to her and not on the steering wheel. "Thank you for wording that like a compliment."

Olivia laughed and gave the blonde's hand a gentle squeeze. Jimmy saw their hands together and smiled. "Now can Livia be my aunt too?" he asked the women. Alex blushed and Olivia laughed.

"Why don't we see how the rest of tonight goes first, little man?" Olivia asked, although she was pleased that he liked her that much.

He seemed satisfied with that answer. Alex looked over at Olivia. "You have completely won over my nephew. It takes at least a month for him to warm up to most of the women I date," she smiled at Olivia.

"I've always been good with kids," Olivia explained. "I think in this case it's just a strong case of hero worship."

"I'm not so sure of that, Liv, but I'll let you believe that for now."

They sat in a comfortable silence until they reached the restaurant. Dinner was filled with conversation about the zoo, mainly led by Jimmy. They talked, ate and overall continued the amazing time they had shared at the zoo. When it was time to leave, Alex insisted on paying the bill. Olivia tried to protest at first, but she found out it was useless. "It's the least I can do, after you bought lunch for Jimmy and me yesterday."

Olivia sighed and gave her the check. "Serves me right for trying to argue with a lawyer."

Alex smiled, paid the check, and they returned to the car. Olivia drove back to Alex's apartment and she insisted on walking them all the way up to the apartment door.

When they got to the door, Alex turned around to say goodnight. Olivia leaned forward and placed a lingering kiss on Alex's cheek. "If my nephew weren't standing right here, I'd be a little disappointed that that was all I got," Alex teased.

"If your nephew weren't standing here that probably wouldn't _be_ all you got," Olivia teased back. "Good night, Alex."

"Night, Liv." Alex smiled.

Olivia then crouched down to look into Jimmy's eyes. "Have a good night, little man."

Jimmy wrapped his arms around Olivia's neck. "Bye, Livia."

Olivia returned the hug and stood up. Giving Alex one last glance she turned and walked down the hallway towards the elevator.


	10. Chapter 10

For disclaimers, please see chapter one

* * *

Alex had a smile on her face for most of Sunday. Even though it had been a little unorthodox and her nephew was acting as a chaperone, their trip to the zoo had been the best date she had ever been on. She knew that someone who would go to all that trouble to make sure a child was as entertained as the adults were was someone special. And even though it had been a little less than two weeks, she knew that she was well on her way to being in love with the dark haired Lieutenant.

Her smile only faltered when she realized she didn't know when she would be able to see Olivia again. As much as she loved her nephew, she knew that when she and Olivia got together again, Alex would want it to be a little less chaperoned and a little more intimate. At least so she would get a proper kiss. Her smile was quickly replaced when she received a call from her mother saying she would be coming into the city for a week and would be arriving later tonight. Maybe she could talk her mother into watching Jimmy if she should suddenly find herself with plans for a few nights of the week.

Alex decided she would call Olivia and see if they might be able to meet for dinner. She exhaled a nervous breath when she could hear that the phone was ringing.

"Benson," Olivia answered.

"Hi, Liv? It's Alex," Alex replied. She hated that she sounded like a nervous teenage schoolgirl about to ask the senior star quarterback out.

"Hey, Alex," Olivia smiled. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was wondering if you would like to go out to dinner with me tonight."

"I think that can be arranged," Olivia answered. "Do you want me to pick you and Jimmy up?"

With Olivia's answer, Alex let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. "Actually," Alex smiled, "my mother will be in town this week and she is going to watch him tonight. But you can still pick me up if you want. I am not a huge fan of cabs after dark."

"I can do that. Seven sound ok?" Olivia asked.

"That sounds great," Alex replied. "I'll see you tonight, Liv."

"See you later, Alex." Olivia hung up the phone with a smile on her face. She had been debating whether or not it was too soon to call Alex for a second date and she was glad the Alex had obviously felt the same. Alex had taken care of the planning, now all Olivia had to do was worry about what to wear. She got up off the couch and made her way into her bedroom to look through her closet.

Around five o'clock Alex heard a key in the lock. She smiled and walked to the entryway to greet her mother. Caroline Cabot smiled when she saw Alex standing to greet her. Momentarily leaving her small suitcase full of essentials in the open doorway, she swiftly moved forward to engulf her daughter in a hug. When they finally pulled apart, Caroline looked at her Alex sympathetically. "I know it's already been a week," she started, "but how are you doing? Really."

Alex gave her a small smile in return. "Both Jimmy and I are fine," Alex reassured her mother. "I'm surprised Jimmy is handling this as well as he is, but he has a new hero out of the deal and I have a date." Alex's small smile turned into a full fledged grin at the thought of Olivia.

"Alright, three questions," Caroline said. "One, where is my grandson? Two, tell me about his hero. And three, your date. Where did you meet her? Do I know her?" Caroline had known about Alex's preference for many years. While she was unsure of how other would handle her daughter's sexuality, she had been proud of Alex for being able to trust her with that aspect of her life.

"Isn't that four?" Alex asked with a smirk.

"Technically, the second one was a statement, so the questions about your date are well within the predefined terms," Caroline explained. She may not have been a lawyer, but she had been around them for most of her life and had picked up on a few things.

Alex laughed at her mother's explanation. "Alright fine," she said. "Jimmy is in his room playing and I will answer the other questions when we actually get you inside." Alex moved around her mother and grabbed her suitcase and pulled it down to the main bedroom. When she came back Caroline was sitting on the couch waiting expectantly. Alex had to smile at how eager her mother was to hear about the "hero" and the "date." She wondered how her mother would react when she figured out they were actually the same person.

"Would like something to drink, mother?" Alex asked innocently, trying to make her mother wait for as long as possible.

"The drink can wait. You come sit down right here and answer my questions," Caroline said, patting a space on the couch.

Alex quietly chuckled and did as she was told. She started by telling her mother about Olivia the hero and everything she had done to help Jimmy cope and help with the investigation.

"I would definitely like to meet this woman, to give her my sincerest thanks," Caroline said.

Alex smiled brightly. "I think I might be able to arrange that."

"Alex?" Caroline said in almost a warning tone. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Umm…did I happen to mention that she is tall, dark, and gorgeous?"

"Which is exactly your type," Caroline smiled. "I'm guessing that she is the date?"

Alex nodded and proceeded to tell her mother all about the events leading up to their first date, including her embarrassing struggle with unfounded jealousy. Caroline, for her part remained quiet throughout the story except where she couldn't contain a laugh. She knew, from the excitement in Alex's eyes as she told the story, that this was already very serious for her daughter. Her only hope was that Lieutenant Benson felt the same way.

"She sounds absolutely lovely dear. When are you seeing her again?"

"Tonight," Alex smiled. "Which reminds me, would you mind babysitting tonight? I know it is a little short notice and all, but…"

"Alexandra!" Caroline interrupted. Alex stopped talking and looked at her mother sheepishly. "I would love to watch Jimmy tonight. What time is your date?"

"Olivia is going to pick me up at seven," Alex replied while glancing at the clock. "Which means I need to start getting ready." It was already six and Alex didn't think Olivia would want to spend too much time talking to her mother before she was ready.

Olivia had called shortly after six to ask Alex what would be appropriate to wear to wherever they were going to tonight. She now stood outside of Alex's apartment door wearing a black, knee length dress. While on the phone, Olivia had been warned that Caroline Cabot was already there. Alex had told her that if she wasn't ready for the whole meet the parents thing, they could meet at the restaurant. Olivia assured her that it would be fine.

Now, however, she wasn't so sure. She was incredibly nervous and actually hesitated before she knocked. She was relieved when Alex opened the door, but it didn't do anything for her breathing.

Alex was standing there, smiling brightly, wearing a dark blue dress that went to just passed her knees in length. It looked as though it had been designed for her, showing off her assets quite nicely.

"Hi," Alex greeted her as she leaned in a placed a small kiss on Liv's cheek. She stepped aside to allow Olivia room to come inside. Olivia returned the smile and entered the apartment. Her first instinct was to look around and see if they had an audience, an action which did not go unnoticed by Alex. "Relax. Both my mother and Jimmy are in the kitchen making their dinner," Alex told her. "Are you sure this is alright, Liv? I mean it is only our second date after all."

Olivia turned back to Alex and smiled. "It's fine," she assured Alex. "I kind of hoped I would be meeting her one day anyway. I just didn't think it would be so soon and with only an hour's notice," Olivia admitted.

Alex smiled at Olivia and placed her hand on her arm, hoping it would help Olivia relax. "Well, if you're ready we can go into the kitchen, meet my mother, and say good night to Jimmy," Alex told her. She started to turn towards the kitchen, but remembered something and turned back abruptly. "Just to warn you, Jimmy is a little upset that he can't come with us tonight."

Olivia chuckled. "I'll think of something to make it up to him," she replied. Alex raised an eyebrow in question. "Don't worry, we'll invite you too," she teased.

Alex couldn't help but smile in return. She was about to turn once again for the kitchen, but remembered one last thing she had to talk to Olivia about and suddenly became shy and nervous.

"Alex?" Olivia asked, noticing the change.

"There's one more thing I need to ask you about before we go in there," Alex explained. "When I introduce you, would you mind if…I mean I think we're on the same page with where this is heading and I'll totally understand if you're not ready for that yet, but…" Alex paused and took a breath to try and calm herself down. "Would it be alright if I introduced you to my mother as my girlfriend?"

Olivia smiled. "Is that all?" Alex bit her lip and nodded nervously. "I think I would be perfectly ok with your mother knowing I am your girlfriend."

Alex let out a relieved sigh and took a hold of Olivia's hand. "Come on," she smiled. "Let's get the introductions over with and we can get out of here." She pulled them through to the kitchen.

Caroline looked up when she heard her daughter open the kitchen door. Even if Alex wouldn't admit it yet, Caroline could tell that that she was very much on her way to being in love with Lieutenant Benson and she was worried that the other woman would not feel the same. However, Caroline saw the look in Olivia's eyes as she looked at her daughter, and while it was hesitant, Caroline could see the complete adoration the dark brown eyes held and she knew she had nothing to worry about.

Caroline was just setting a plate in front of Jimmy as he waited patiently at the table. He had also looked up when he heard the kitchen door open. He was excited to see Olivia again, but he was upset that he didn't get to go with her and his aunt. He had learned to be stubborn from most of the adults in his life, so the pout on his face remained firmly in place. Both Olivia and Alex noticed this, but before they could address it, they had to get the introductions out of the way.

"Mother, I would like you to meet Lieutenant Olivia Benson," Alex said, saying Olivia's full title with pride. "Liv, this is my mother, Caroline Cabot."

"Very nice to meet you Mrs. Cabot," Olivia said as she extended her hand.

"Please, Lieutenant," Caroline smiled as she took Olivia's proffered hand in her own, "call me Caroline."

"Only if you'll call me Olivia," she replied with a smile of her own.

Caroline nodded. Pleased that the meeting had gone well, Alex informed Olivia that she was going to get her purse and left the kitchen.

"I've heard a lot about you from Alexandra and Jimmy," Caroline informed her.

"All good I hope?" Olivia asked.

"From the way they tell it, you deserve a medal," Caroline said.

"I was only doing my job, Caroline," Olivia replied.

"And I will forever be in your debt because of it," Caroline told her sincerely.

"I can assure you that getting to know Alex and Jimmy is repayment enough."

Hearing his name, Jimmy continued to pout, better than most five year olds Olivia had seen, and crossed his arms over his chest. Liv couldn't ignore the expression any longer. "What's wrong little man?"

"Aunt Alex get's to hang out with you, and I don't," he whined.

Olivia had to fight to contain any laughter. "I'm sorry buddy. What if we made it up to you?"

Jimmy's eyes lit up hearing this and his features softened into a small smile. "Really?" he asked hopefully.

Olivia nodded. "Not tonight," she told him. Before he could get too disappointed though she quickly added, "How about the three of us go to the park again on Saturday?"

"Will I get to feed the duckies?" he asked skeptically, almost like he was negotiating terms of a contract.

Olivia couldn't contain the small chuckle that escaped her. She also noted that Caroline laughed as well. "Yes, I will take you to feed the ducks," she told him.

Jimmy looked as if he was thinking about it. "Ok," he finally responded. "It's ok if you only take Aunt Alex with you tonight."

Caroline laughed. Alex reentered the room. She had heard his last statement and looked over at her nephew. "I'm so glad I have your permission now, Jimmy," she told him with an amused smile on her face. "Is it alright if we leave now?"

Jimmy had turned all of his attention to his dinner, but he nodded hearing his aunt's question.

Finally bringing her amusement under control, Caroline looked over at the two women. "Have a lovely time girls," she told them. "It was nice meeting you, Olivia."

"You too, Caroline," Olivia replied. Alex grabbed her hand, they said good night, and walked out of the kitchen.


	11. Chapter 11

For disclaimers please see chapter 1

* * *

Walking into the squad room of the 16th precinct the next morning, Olivia still had a smile on her face as she recalled the events of her date last night. Alex had taken her to an amazing restaurant; romantic, yet not dramatically so and not overly expensive, Olivia noticed, meaning that if she ever wanted to treat at the same restaurant, it would not be impossible to do so.

They had been able to talk about anything and everything. The conversation was comfortable, none of it seemed to be forced. Alex explained how Jimmy returning to the custody of his father wouldn't be as awkward for her niece as some people might think. Although her brother had never spent a significant amount of time with his son, they were able to talk to each other regularly via webcam, and he always made it a point to spend as much time as he could with his son while he had any form of leave. Alex revealed that it would probably be a more difficult adjustment period for the adults involved than Jimmy.

Olivia was able to open up some about her childhood. It had been easy for her partially because Alex already knew about the circumstances surrounding her birth and she was still there, sitting with Olivia. It was also the fact that she felt like she could trust Alex with anything.

Olivia had also asked Alex if the squad knew she was gay. Alex responded in the negative, but explained that she didn't advertise it, but she didn't go to any lengths to hide it. Olivia then asked how she would feel about them knowing, explaining that Elliot was still one of her best friends even though they weren't partners anymore. Alex told her that Olivia could tell anyone she wanted that the two of them were dating.

With dinner finished, Alex and Olivia were walking hand in hand back towards the car when Olivia had seen something that caught her eye. She took Alex's hand, asked if she trusted her, and led the way towards the middle of the attraction. Of course Alex could see that they were standing in the middle of an area that did timed water shows. It must have shown on her face, because Olivia smiled and explained.

"On my mother's good days during the summer we would come here. She always told me that the trick was to avoid the water," Olivia explained. "If you really don't want to do this, we can go."

Alex had thought about it and smiled as she agreed. Once the water started, the two women quickly learned that it was difficult to run away from water when you were wearing the heels and were quickly dripping from head to toe.

Towards the end of the show the water was shooting up everywhere. Alex and Olivia met in the middle, both laughing. Alex slipped her hands around Olivia's neck while Olivia wrapped her arms around Alex's waist. Their eyes locked, each asking a silent question. Seeing the answers they were looking for, they slowly leaned in, both eagerly anticipating the oncoming kiss. When they were mere centimeters apart, Olivia pulled back a little, just to tease Alex.

Alex not appreciating being teased, put her hands on the back of Olivia's head and pulled their faces back together. She didn't like being denied the feeling of Olivia's lips on her own when, not when she finally had a chance to enjoy the sensation properly.

Olivia had been pleasantly surprised by Alex's eagerness. Even now, more than twelve hours later outside the squad room of the 1-6, she could still feel her lips tingling. She started to blush as she remembered the last part of their evening and decided to make a pit stop in the bathroom before she went to meet with the SVU squad.

Olivia and Alex had made their way back to Alex's apartment, both still dripping wet. At the apartment door, Alex turned to say goodnight and for a goodnight kiss. Alex leaned back against the wall, not noticing when her elbow had hit the door. They had been so distracted by each other, they didn't realize they had an audience until a throat clearing caused Olivia to spring back. The two women turned to look into the amused face of Caroline Cabot.

"I'm not disturbing anything, am I ladies?" she asked innocently.

Alex tried to glare at her mother, but it was proving to be difficult with the smile that she couldn't get off her face, or that blush that had crept onto her face. "Actually, I was just in the middle of saying goodnight to my girlfriend. If you give us a minute, I'll be in momentarily and you can attempt to get all the details then," Alex smiled sweetly at her mother, knowing perfectly well that she would tell her everything. She couldn't wait to tell someone about the amazing night she had just had.

Caroline smiled at the pair and returned to the apartment, leaving the two women alone. Alex turned back to Olivia and noticed the equally red face. "I'm sorry about that," she apologized.

Olivia smiled. "If I recall correctly counselor, you weren't the only one participating in that kiss so there is nothing to apologize for," she responded, causing them both to laugh a little. "God, I haven't been caught making out by someone's mother since high school."

"That is definitely a story that I want to hear, but I think that if I don't get in there soon we will be interrupted again and that would be embarrassing," Alex laughed. "The first time was bad enough, the second time would be mortifying."

"I would have to agree," Liv replied. "What are you doing on Friday?"

Alex pretended to think about it. "I have a feeling I am having dinner with the beautiful woman standing in front of me." Olivia looked behind her, knowing that Alex was referring to her. Alex lightly hit her in the shoulder. "You, you smart ass," Alex laughed. "Just for that you get to treat on Friday."

Olivia laughed. "How about we have dinner at my apartment? I'll cook."

"Allow me to bring the wine, and you have a deal, lieutenant," Alex smiled.

"I will see you on Friday then. Seven sound ok?" Olivia asked. Alex nodded and Olivia leaned in a placed another brief kiss on Alex's lips. "Goodnight, Alex," Olivia whispered. She then turned and walked back towards the elevator, knowing that if she looked back it would be even more difficult to leave.

With the memories of the night before lived through for the hundredth time, Olivia finally felt composed enough to enter the squad room. The first thing she noticed upon entering the room was that everyone seemed to be gathered around one of the boards towards the back of the room. Obviously going over facts for a case. Making her way her way closer, Olivia caught the now very familiar and enticing sound of the voice of Alex Cabot. She unconsciously smiled as she continued to listen to the group.

"We got nothing, Alex," Fin explained. "No more leads, no suspects, and no more witnesses."

"There must be something," Alex replied as she looked around at her squad, not yet noticing the presence of Olivia.

Olivia, who had been listening for the majority of the conversation decided to offer her advice. "Try the landlord," she suggested. She laughed as every head turned to see her.

"I didn't think you did real police work anymore, Liv," Elliot teased.

"You know me, El, I could never turn it off," she smirked. This caused everyone to laugh.

"Well, your instincts were always pretty accurate so we will take another look at the landlord," Munch replied. "It was good seeing you again, Liv." With that he and Fin grabbed their coats and left the squad room.

"So, what brings you here today, Liv?" Monique asked.

"Elliot called and said that sketch was read for me to see," she explained.

"I should get back to my office," Alex explained. She turned to Olivia and didn't ever try to fight her smile, knowing it would be useless. "Nice seeing you again, Lieutenant." Alex left the squad room as Liv and Elliot walk over to Elliot's desk.

Seeing the smile on his ex-partner's face, Elliot decided to ask her about it. "What's got you so happy today, Liv?"

"You know better, El, I don't kiss and tell," she teased.

"Ohh, so there is a new woman in your life. Do we know her?" he asked, seeing Monique walk over to her desk across from his.

"If you're good then maybe I'll tell you. Now show me the damn sketch," Olivia laughed.

"Tell us what?" Monique asked.

"Olivia has a new girlfriend," Elliot explained, not looking up from his search.

"Really?" Monique asked, slightly shocked. "Do we know her? Wait, it's not one of the nurses is it?"

Olivia laughed. "Damn it, Jeffries. That was one time. And yes you do know her."

This caused both detectives to stop what they were doing and look at her expectantly. Olivia looked around the squad room and noticed they were alone. "It's Alex," she told them with a smile.

At first they were both shocked. Elliot turned his expression as serious as he could. "Are you happy, Liv?"

"Yes I am, El. I think this is it."

"Now don't take this the wrong way, Liv, cause Alex is gonna get the same lecture," Monique started, "but she has become one of the team and you know how protective we can be of each other."

"You tow don't have to worry about anything," Olivia reassured them. Noticing their confused looks, she continued to explain. "I'm pretty sure I've fallen in love with her."

Elliot completely stopped looking for the sketch, looked at Olivia, and, after seeing how sincere she was, pulled her into a hug. "I'm happy for you, Olivia. You deserve it," he told her as he pulled away. "You'll have to bring her by the house sometime so she can meet Kath and the kids."

"You did good, Liv," Monique said as she also gave Olivia a hug. "She might not show it all the time, but she's a good person."

"Thanks guys," Olivia told them. "Now can we cut all of this sentimental crap and get down to work?"

They all laughed at that and Elliot was finally able to produce the sketch. Olivia took one look at the piece of paper and had to do a double take. "Liv? You alright?" Elliot asked after he saw her reaction.

"Yeah," she replied a little distractedly. She was looking into the face of Johnny Daniels. Snapping out of it she looked at the two detectives who were looking back at her anxiously. "Listen, I think I know who this guy is, but I want to check on a few things before I give you a name. We all know how a police investigation can ruin a person's life even if they are innocent. Give me an hour to check some things out and I will give you his name then."

Both Elliot and Monique reluctantly agreed and watched as Olivia left the squad room. She quickly made her way to the station house. The first person she saw was DJ. Remembering that he had been on the call for the jumper, she asked him if JD had been there also.

After thinking about it for a minute, he replied. "Come to think of it, he didn't actually show up until we were already back. He looked a little jumpy."

Olivia sighed and thanked him for the information and walked sullenly back to her office, still not wanting to believe it. It wasn't until she sat down behind her desk that she remembered a very crucial piece of information. JD was never given the address of the building that was on fire, yet he knew exactly where to go. Knowing that she could no longer put off the inevitable, she pulled out her cell and gave Elliot a call, telling him the name and where he could be found.

An hour later, as she was talking with Paul Unger, Elliot called back to let her know that he was nowhere to be found. Olivia asked Paul if he had heard from JD, only to be informed that he was on vacation in Florida and would be returning on Saturday. Olivia relayed the information to Elliot and was told not to worry. Now that they knew who he was, they would be able to watch his apartment, ready for when he returned.

Olivia sighed, thanked Elliot, and told Paul to gather the rest of the crew so she could brief them on the situation. After telling everyone to call the SVU or herself with any information, Olivia decided she was going to take off for the day.

Walking back towards her apartment, Olivia's cell began to ring. Wanting so much to ignore it even though she knew she couldn't, she sighed and answered. "Benson,"

"Hey, Hot stuff. Don't sound so happy to hear from me next time," came the smokey reply from the other line. Abbie had taken to calling her that as soon as she learned Olivia would be working with FDNY.

Olivia smiled at the sound of her best friend's voice. "Hey Abbie. What are you up to?" She responded as she walked into her building.

"Well, Casey said you off work until Wednesday so I thought I would take you to lunch, but it seems you had better plans," Abbie responded. "I'm standing outside your apartment right now."

Olivia momentarily stopped from surprise. "Give me two minutes." She snapped the phone shut and ran up the stairs. Rounding the corner to her apartment, she saw the tall Texan leaning casually against the wall next to her apartment door.

Smiling at the sight of her best friend, Olivia took a moment to take in her appearance. She was wearing a white, button down shirt, a tight pair of blue jeans, and a black leather jacket. "Did you miss me so much that you decided to start dressing like me?" she teased, alerting her friend to her presence.

"For your information, Benson, I have always dressed like this when I have no chance of being called into work," Abbie responded as she turned to embrace Olivia.

"Aside from the fact that you're in New York on a Monday, why exactly do you have no chance of going into work?" Olivia asked as she stepped back and opened her apartment door.

"I took the week off to visit Casey and to move," Abbie responded casually, knowing Olivia would pick up on her last statement.

Olivia had in fact picked up on it. She came to a halt as she led Abbie into the kitchen for a drink. Turning she saw the smirk playing on dark haired attorney's face. "To move? As in back to New York?"

Abbie nodded. "I've been offered a position at Columbia's Law School," she explained.

"Abbie that's fantastic," Olivia exclaimed, once again embracing her friend. "SO are you moving in with Casey then?"

Again, Abbie nodded. "We are actually looking for a new apartment. The one she has isn't large enough to fit both of our things."

"Well, I'm here to help if you need me," Olivia said.

"I don't know if you'll have the time, Liv," Abbie said. At Olivia's confused look, she continued. "Rumor has it that you have a new girlfriend that you didn't tell me about."

"Why don't I make it up to you by taking you to lunch and I'll tell you all about her?" Olivia said.

Abbie nodded and the pair once again made their way out onto the streets of New York.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Sorry for not updating sooner. It's been a weird couple of weeks. Anyway, read on, comment if you want, and enjoy.

For disclaimer please see chapter 1. The song is performed by Selena. I don't own that either.

* * *

If you had asked Alex where the week had gone, she wouldn't have been able to tell you. If she wasn't fully engrossed in preparation for a case, her time was split between remembering her date on Sunday and thinking about her upcoming date on Friday.

Her mother hadn't been able to wait long enough for Alex to change before she started to ask about the date. The first question obviously being why she was so wet. Alex still smiled at the answer that so readily came to mind. _Did you not see the woman I was just with?_ While her mother was fully accepting of her lifestyle, she highly doubted she would appreciate the smartass answer. No parent wanted details about their children's sex life.

She told her mother everything. Not really what they had talked about, that was for Olivia to tell. Mainly what they did. She could still remember the look in Olivia's eyes when she had told Alex about the significance of the ground fountain water show. She couldn't explain it, but something told her that Olivia had never shared that information nor had she ever done that with anyone else. It made her feel special that she could possibly be the only one that shared that with Olivia.

She couldn't even describe the kiss. Combined with the company and the water falling all around them, it was possibly the best kiss she had ever received. She remembered thinking that it felt just like kissing in the rain before all thoughts stopped thanks to the sensations she was experiencing.

Caroline, for her part, had been very happy that Alex found someone that she not only cared about and who returned the feelings, but they could also have some fun together. She had been all too happy to listen to the details of the date.

Now sitting in her office, counting down the hours until she would be able to see Olivia again, Alex once more allowed her mind to wonder to what might transpire tonight. The fact that she was meeting the lieutenant at her apartment and what that might bring was not lost on Alex. If she were completely honest with herself, she wouldn't mind if the date were to carry over into tomorrow morning. With a smile on her face at the thought, Alex was startled out of her thoughts by a knock on the door.

"Come in," she called out.

As she was straitening things out on her desk, she saw Detectives Jeffries and Stabler walk into her office. They didn't say anything, just walked in, stood in front of her desk, and crossed their arms like they were staring down a perp.

Alex raised an eyebrow and couldn't help the smirk that made its way onto her face. "Something I can help with, Detectives?"

"Rumor has it that you're seeing someone, Counselor," Monique started.

Alex only nodded. Olivia had called her earlier in the week to warn that these two were going to try something like this. She had to admit that seeing it actually happening was rather funny.

"Another rumor is that it's a certain member of the FDNY that used to be NYPD," Elliot continued.

"That would also be correct," Alex responded. "And that is a problem because?"

"We just want to find out what your intentions are," Monique said. "Liv's family and we want to see her happy."

Alex was about to respond when Elliot interrupted. "Your family too. We already gave her the talk and we were obviously pleased with her answers, but before we can bestow a full blessing…" Elliot trailed off with a shrug.

Alex sat back in her chair and motioned to the seats across from her desk. "What would you like to know?"

The detectives sat down. Monique motioned for Elliot to start. "Well first of all, I want to know how serious you are about this relationship. When you first got here you told Cap'n that you were going to use the shoulders of the SVU to reach a broader constituency. Would you hide your relationship with Liv in order to have a political career?"

At first Alex looked at him as if he had grown a second head. "While I will admit that I do have political aspirations, I'm not ambitious enough to forsake my happiness or the happiness of a potential partner. You of all people should know that I never settle."

Elliot seemed pleased with that answer, but Monique wasn't quite satisfied. "And would you be settling if you were with Liv?"

"You're not serious?" Alex asked incredulously. "Olivia Benson is the most amazing woman I have ever met. Not only is she honest, brave, funny, and sexy as hell, but she is also great with kids. She's passionate about things she cares about and she would do anything to help a friend."

Alex had been so caught up in her rant, she almost missed the smiles that were spreading across her detectives faces. Upon noticing, however, she immediately shut up and made an expression as if to say _what the hell is going on?_ Noticing the look, Elliot decided to try and explain. "We already know all of that counselor. We just wanted to make sure you did. What better way than to make you think you were settling?"

"I don't appreciate having interrogation tactics used on me, Elliot. In the future just ask how serious I am," Alex explained.

"In that case," Monique said, "how do you feel?"

At this question an unconscious smile started to appear across the young attorney's face. "Honestly? I've fallen in love with her. I know I've only known her for a few weeks, but I can't help it."

A smile spread across both detectives faces. "Well then," Monique said as she stood and motioned for Elliot to follow. "We will get out of your hair so that you can finish with your work and get to your date on time."

Alex smiled and told them she would see them on Monday. As they left and closed the door, Alex looked at the clock and sighed. It was only one o'clock. She still had four hours before she was even supposed to leave the office and then another three before she was supposed to meet Olivia. It was going to be a long afternoon.

When the knock came on the door at quarter to seven, Olivia was just finishing getting dressed. It wasn't anything fancy, as they were just staying in the apartment, but she did want to look nice. Clad in tight, but comfortable blue jeans, a dark blue button-up cotton shirt unbuttoned enough to show the white undershirt underneath, Olivia went and answered the door. Opening it, she was greeted to the sight of Alex in a pair of skinny jeans, a white blouse unbuttoned a little at the top. The only difference was that Alex wore no undershirt. To top it all off were the dark framed glasses. Olivia thought it was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

After recovering from the sight before her, Olivia was finally able to speak. "Hi," Olivia greeted. She leaned in to give Alex a quick kiss. Alex, who had been thinking about the date all day, had other ideas. As soon as their lips connected she made a move to deepen the kiss. Running her tongue along Olivia's lower lip, begging for an entrance that Olivia was more than happy to grant. It wasn't until the need for oxygen became too much to ignore when the separated.

"Where did that come from?" Olivia asked with a smile on her face.

Alex returned the smile. "I have been thinking about you all day," she confessed.

"Well if gets me a greeting like that, feel free to think about me all the time," Olivia chuckled. "Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes. If you want to go have a seat in the living room, I will be right back with some wine." Olivia pointed in the direction of the aforementioned room and went in the direction of what Alex believed to be the kitchen.

The apartment was almost exactly what Alex had pictured. It had a warm cozy feeling to it. There was also something that Alex could only describe as simply Olivia. While in the living room, Alex could hear music playing softly. When one song faded into a new one, Alex smiled to herself when she realized it was a mix cd.

"What are you smiling for?" Olivia asked, startling Alex out of her reverie.

Ignoring the question, Alex asked one of her own. "What is your favorite type of music?"

"Don't have one," Olivia smiled. She handed Alex her glass of wine as she sat down next to her. "I like it all. All the Cd's I own are burnt mixes, with the occasional real Cd from someone who thinks I might like it."

"Are you confessing to illegally obtaining music to a member of the bar?" Alex smirked.

"Not at all Counselor, I don't actually download the music," Olivia confessed. When Alex looked at her with a confused expression, Olivia explained. They are all from friends who know me well enough to have a feel for what I would like. They down load it, not me," Olivia smiled as Alex laughed.

The timer went off, signaling that dinner was ready. Olivia led Alex to the table and began to serve the meal. While they ate, Alex told Olivia about the visit from Monique and Elliot. She left out the part about being in love with her though. She wasn't ready to voice that. Soon, but not yet. They also talked about how Jimmy was doing and Alex informed her that he was really excited about tomorrow.

After dinner was eaten and the kitchen was mostly cleaned up, the two women found comfort lounging on the couch, Alex curled up next to Olivia with an arm wrapped around her shoulders. They were content to sit there in a comfortable silence, when a familiar song came on the radio. Alex looked up at Olivia with a shy smile on her face.

"I know this may be incredibly corny, but would you dance with me?"

Olivia smiled back and agreed. She stood up and helped Alex up. It wasn't until they were slowly dancing in her living room, that Olivia was listening to the words of the song. She wondered if it was just a coincidence, or if Alex was trying to tell her something.

_**I could lose my heart tonight  
**__**If you don't turn and walk away  
**__**'Cause the way I feel I might  
**__**Lose control and let you stay  
**__**'Cause I could take you in my arms  
**__**And never let go**_

_**I could fall in love with you  
**__**I could fall in love with you**_

_**I could only wonder how  
**__**Touching you would make me feel  
**__**But if I take that chance right now  
**__**Tomorrow will you want me still?  
**__**So I should keep this to myself  
**__**And never let you know**_

_**I could fall in love with you  
**__**I could fall in love with you**_

_**And I know it's not right  
**__**And I guess I should try to do what I should do  
**__**But I could fall in love  
**__**Fall in love with you  
**__**I could fall in love with you**_

_**Siempre estoy soñada en ti  
**__**Besandos mis labios, acariciando mi piel  
**__**Abrazadome con ansias locas  
**__**Imaginando que me amos  
**__**Cómo yo podia amar a ti**_

_**So I should keep this to myself  
**__**And never let you know**_

_**I could fall in love with you  
**__**I could fall in love with you  
**__**I could fall in love  
**__**I could fall in love  
**__**With you...**_

As the song faded out, Alex lifted her head from where it was resting on Olivia's shoulder. She looked into Olivia's eyes and saw what she had been waiting to see since the day at the zoo. The chocolate eyes were filled with love and another emotion that almost took her breath away; desire. Right then, Alex knew that touching would no longer be innocent; the looks were no longer casual.

She leaned forward to press her lips to Olivia's. It started out was a sweet kiss, but quickly became more passionate. Alex could feel herself being lead in towards the hallway, in a direction she hoped would lead to a bedroom. Once in the room, Olivia's first shirt dropped to the floor. Alex had been working on it since the beginning of the hallway. Alex's blouse quickly followed. Olivia paused a moment to take in the sight of a nearly topless Alex in front of her.

Her thoughts of how beautiful her soon-to-be lover was were interrupted when she felt hands sliding along the hem of her t-shirt. "You wear too many shirts," Alex commented huskily as she brought the shirt up over Olivia's head. She leaned in to once more capture the lips in front of her. Her hands, acting with a mind of their own, snaked around Olivia's back to remove the bra that was blocking her access to a clear view. When Alex felt the air of the bedroom against her own chest, she realized Olivia had had the same idea. The rest of the clothing quickly followed.

The first touch of bare skin on naked skin was enough to make Alex swoon and seconds later she heard the bedcovers of the bed being pulled aside as she buried her teeth into Olivia's shoulder. Marking her, tasting her, wanting her more than she had ever wanted anything in her entire life.

She felt as if she would die if she did not have her, right now. The feeling was so strong.

Gone were the thoughts of firefighters turned arsonists and rapists. Forgotten were the SVU and FDNY. Right now, all that mattered to Olivia was now. She could barely think she was so turned on and when she felt Alex's body along the length of her own, she moaned openly, wantonly.

It seemed to ignite a fire in Alex and in a heartbeat, she felt herself straddled in the bed as Alex kissed her deeply, completely, with a passion that melted her bones and boiled her blood. Enough waiting, enough wanting. Once Olivia made a decision she was always thorough about following through, never hesitating.

This would not be an exception.

Sitting up with Alex in her lap she slid her hand between them finding her way to the wet heat that she had felt as soon as Alex had moved up onto her. Alex bore down on her hand and leaned back into Olivia's other arm, a low moan escaping her mouth.

The image was highly erotic, agonizingly intimate. It tore Olivia's breath from her body as she moved her hand purposefully, gently, knowingly before sliding a finger and then two into Alex, easily bearing her weight on her free arm.

Leaning forward, Olivia kissed he valley between Alex's breasts before brushing her face against an erect nipple, moaning freely in response to the way that Alex moved against her hand, against her body. Alex pulled her face up and kissed her, panting into the kiss as she ground down onto Olivia's hand, sweat on their skin lubricating the movement further.

Telltale shivers and tightening told Olivia that Alex was close, very close. Wanting nothing more than to give pleasure to this woman, Olivia focused her movements and kissed Alex in synch with them.

Moments, lifetimes, seconds later, Alex was almost crushing Olivia against her as orgasm took her. Olivia's body hummed in sympathy and she could feel her muscles clench in anticipation as she kissed Alex's throat and upper chest, calming the movements of her hand, but still maintaining the movements so as not to interrupt any of Alex's pleasure.

Incredible... Her mind repeated, over and over again.

Alex did not move until she felt Olivia remove her hand, gently, carefully, but it still made her hiss in response. Right now, she was being held up by the strong woman in her arms, and the feeling of being safe and protected permeated her whole being. Never mind satisfied.

Lifting her head she looked into her lover's face. Olivia's face was clouded with emotion, and desire. Alex could feel her racing pulse and the soft panting and it drove her wild. In an instant Alex knew that if she did not feel Olivia, if she did not touch her, if Olivia did not come, she would explode.

The sensation was overpowering and in an instant, Alex pressed her advantage, pushing on Olivia until the dark woman was supine on the bed under her.

Sweat glistened on soft skin, and in the dim light, Alex could see several well healed scars adorning the beautiful body in front of her. Maybe she would ask later what they were, she desperately wanted to know, but for now, she wanted Olivia, and nothing else.

She had to have her, now.

Easing long legs apart, Alex laid herself between them, moaning as she felt Olivia's wetness smear against her body. Strong fingers curled around her shoulders as she kissed Olivia's body, her mouth wild and hungry. Olivia arched shamelessly into her and curled her legs around Alex's back. The act was possessive and wanton, and it turned Alex on even more, if that was possible. Surely they were going to catch flame, the intensity of sensation and emotion was so great.

Wrapping her arms around strong thighs, Alex breathed in the undeniably delicious human scent that was Olivia. Pure lust. Her hunger escalated and a moment later she feasting, holding on as Olivia undulated under her, listening as she gasped and moaned. Her tongue buried itself deep into the other woman before two of her fingers gently took its place as she moved her mouth up to Olivia's clitoris.

The effect was immediate. Olivia sat up in the bed and gave Alex a show that she would not soon forget. Olivia was braced against her arms which she was using to push herself down onto Alex, while her legs moved in synchronicity to increase contact, movement, friction, and slide.

With her head thrown back and sounds that heaven was made of coming from her mouth, Alex was so stunned and mesmerized by Olivia, that she was only glad that she was able to perform while distracted.

In a marvelous display of control and strength, one arm came up from the bed and Olivia caressed Alex's head and face while she undulated under Alex's hands and tongue. Eyes even darker than usual looked down at her and Alex could almost feel Olivia's pleasure from the look that she was giving her.

"I want you."

The words were uttered in a low husk, the sound curling around Alex's loins and heightening her arousal to the point of almost pain. Olivia removed her hand from Alex's face 

and was now reaching between her own legs to guide Alex's hand, gently removing sopping fingers and gently encouraging Alex to go lower.

Alex paused slightly when the hand was removed, obviously Olivia wanted her to decide what she wanted to do.

"You can stay where you were, the choice is yours, Alex. I love your touch."

Olivia whispered as she moved against Alex's mouth, legs trembling. Alex slid her fingers back into place and escalated her movements wanting to make it impossible for Olivia to speak before she decided what she would do next. She was not a prude and it pleased her to have such a responsive and adaptable lover, but she wanted Olivia speechless, she wanted her to surrender.

Olivia surged against Alex, her breath coming in gasps now as she moved, and it was now that Alex slowly changed position, a lone finger trailing down copious moisture while her mouth kept Olivia completely distracted.

Hot, tight and slick, is how it felt, but no sooner had she made note of that when Olivia almost screamed in response to her ministrations. Her arms collapsed under her and strong thighs came up to wrap around her head. This just from one knuckle's worth of finger. Alex pushed further, and in another moment Olivia chocked off a scream as she came, hard, her body shaking and trembling as she did.

Alex's body clenched in sympathy as she watched. Extraordinary. She had never seen anything as beautiful. Gently withdrawing her fingers and mouth, she laid her head on the smooth pelvic area of her lover and caught her breath, her wet hand clenching a sheet, while her other hand caressed Olivia softly as they both panted from exertion and feeling...

Olivia was quite certain that she had never had an orgasm quite like that before. Her hands and feet were tingling, and she could barely move. Distantly she felt Alex move up her body before she came to rest in the crook of her arm. Olivia could feel the tension vibrating off Alex's body, undoubtedly the other woman was painfully aroused. Olivia knew she would be in the same situation.

Rolling over, Olivia gathered Alex into her arms and held her, feeling a rare moment of contentment. Pushing her leg between Alex's thighs, Olivia slowly and surely rolled them over, so that in essence, she was straddling Alex's leg. Pushing upwards, she was rewarded by a slight gasp, which she immediacy sought to capture with her mouth.

The kiss was heady, ravenous and tasted of sex.

Immediately intoxicated once more, Olivia moved her mouth down Alex's body, kissing, licking, sucking as she went, deliberately smearing her own wetness down a leg, an action which caused Alex to grab at her and attempt to pull her upwards. Undaunted, she finally found herself 

nestling between a pair of perfect thighs and without preamble she buried her face, her strong arms wrapped securely around strong legs as she did.

Pushing her tongue into Alex, she used her lips and nose to good effect in other areas. Alex arched off the bed in a supple display of strength and as Olivia moved her tongue deeper she felt the beginning of Alex's orgasm. Moving a hand she pushed her forefinger into Alex, cupping her own jaw as she did and moved her mouth higher, not neglecting anything as she went. The clitoris was just the visible portion of a much larger system of nerves, after all.

When she reached her eventual goal, she used her tongue to gently push back a tiny hood and the soft inner portion of her lower lip to caress the impossibly sensitive area. By now, Alex was shaking and when Olivia sucked lightly, she came. Powerfully, wonderfully; Olivia felt as if her own heart would stop.

When Alex was still, Olivia moved up to straddle Alex's leg, arching as hands came up to cup her breasts and then she ground down onto soft skin. A gasp escaped her lips as she dropped her chin to her chest and looked at Alex.

So beautiful.

Sensation sneaked up her spine and then she leaned down, kissing Alex as she came, feeling nails dig into her back as she did, the sensation inflaming her further, enhancing her orgasm.

When they were both finally able to breathe normally again, Olivia moved off of Alex, but continued to hold her as Alex curled into her side. They looked at each other and smiled fondly. Olivia pulled the covers up to cover their bodies, rapidly cooling from the air.

Laying her head on Olivia's shoulder Alex spoke quietly. "I think I've fallen in love with you," she confessed.

"Then I think we have a problem," Olivia responded. Alex quickly looked up at Olivia after hearing the seriousness in her voice. She couldn't help, but feel hurt that Olivia didn't feel the same. However she kept quiet and waited for Olivia to explain. "I know I've fallen in love with you." Olivia smiled at the look of relief on Alex's face, knowing that her thoughts could have gone in a million different directions.

"Let me rephrase that then," Alex said with a smirk, using her lawyer tone. "I am very much in love with you Olivia Benson." She finished her statement by giving Olivia a soft kiss while unconsciously stroking her hand up and down Olivia's side.

Pulling slightly away, Olivia grinned at Alex. "You keep doing that and you're going to get a repeat of what just happened."

Giving a mischievous smile of her own, Alex continued the movement, only made it much closer to the soft breasts. "Well then."

Olivia laughed. She knew she was in for a long night.


	13. Chapter 13

For disclaimer please see chapter 1.

* * *

The sunlight streaming through the window, dancing on her shoulder, woke Alex. She looked at the clock and couldn't believe it was already ten in the morning. She hadn't slept that late since college. She was also surprisingly well rested considering they didn't get to sleep until the early hours of the morning. She reached to move closer to her lover, but was met with an empty bed instead. However, she wasn't too disappointed because the bed was still warm, meaning Olivia hadn't gotten up too long ago.

As if being able to read her thoughts, the bathroom door opened, revealing a freshly showered Olivia Benson clad in a white tank top and dark grey boxers. Walking towards the bed, Olivia looked up and locked eyes with a grinning Alex. "Morning Beautiful," Olivia greeted, leaning down to kiss Alex, a gesture she was more than willing to return.

"Good Morning," Alex responded when the kiss ended. "How long have you been up?" She asked as she watched Olivia lay back down on the bed.

"Only about fifteen minutes," Olivia responded. "I didn't want to wake you so I decided to take a shower. I figured we didn't really get a lot of sleep last night."

"Yeah, there was this beautiful lieutenant distracting me, multiple times, for hours," Alex said.

Olivia had to laugh at that. "I seem to remember you doing an equal amount of distracting, Miss Cabot."

A smug smile appeared on Alex's face. "I did, didn't I?"

"That is the smuggest smile I have ever seen," Olivia said.

"I bet I could do better," Alex replied as she leaned in to kiss Olivia again. As she was still naked, she allowed the sheet to fall, making it easier for Olivia's hands to roam. Much to her disappointment though, Olivia pulled away.

"We don't have time," Olivia explained.

"Somewhere more important you have to be, Lieutenant?" Alex smiled.

"Actually, yes there is," Olivia responded. When she took in Alex's hurt expression she decided to elaborate. "You and I have a date in the park with a certain five year old."

As the relief flooded through Alex's system, she decided it was time for a little payback. She launched into a full scale tickle attack. As Olivia writher beneath her, trying to escape her hands, Alex decided to give a brief lecture. "Don't you ever do that to me again," Alex said through her chuckle. Preoccupied with trying to control her own laughter, she didn't notice it when Olivia grabbed her wrists. She did, however, notice when their positions were reversed and she had her hands pinned above her head.

"What are you gonna do now, sweetheart?"

Alex felt her heart do a little flip at the term of endearment. "I'm gonna make us late if you keep me here for too long," Alex responded huskily.

Olivia smiled softly and leaned in for another brief kiss. "Then I think it would be best if you hoped in the shower, while I go make us some coffee," she responded as she pulled away. She rolled off the bed and made her way out of the room. At the door she turned back for another glance at Alex and then continued on her way towards the kitchen. Alex's smile only grew and her only thoughts as she walked into the bathroom were _how did I get so lucky?_

Thirty minutes later, dressed in her jeans from the night before and one of Olivia's t-shirts, Alex joined her girlfriend in the kitchen. She saw that Olivia had also gotten dressed and was engrossed in reading the newspaper. Alex walked over to the table and stood behind her, placing her arms around her neck. Smiling, Olivia stood and turned in the embrace. She leaned back against the table, pulling Alex with her by wrapping her arms around her waist. Alex snuggled into the embrace and laid her head on Olivia's shoulder. She was just getting comfortable when she saw the clock.

"Ugh," Alex groaned. "If we're gonna meet you at noon, I have to go."

Olivia laughed. "Don't sound so disappointed," she told Alex. "It will only be a couple of hours. Next time you stay over, I'll make sure to cook you breakfast."

At the mention of a next time, Alex's smile brightened. "Next time?"

"Yes next time," Olivia chuckled. "Did you think this was just a onetime deal? I'm in love with you, Alex." She emphasized the statement with a quick kiss.

"I love you too, Liv," Alex smiled and then sighed when she saw the clock again. "Are you sure it's only gonna be a couple of hours?"

"Yes," Olivia laughed again. "Go pick up Jimmy and you guys can meet me at the station house around noon. I have some paper work to do and it's closer to your place and the park anyway."

"That sounds good," Alex replied. She gave Olivia another soft kiss. "I'll see you at noon."

Olivia smiled and walked Alex to the door. After closing it behind her girlfriend, Olivia returned to her apartment to finish getting ready for a day out.

Twenty minutes later, Alex walked into her own apartment. Knowing full well both occupants were awake, she ventured in the direction of the kitchen, hoping to find them there. Sure enough, Caroline and Jimmy were both sitting at the table. Jimmy was dressed and ready to go, eating a bowl of fruit loops, while Caroline was reading the paper and sipping her tea. Alex 

cleared her throat to get her attention. When Jimmy looked up to see his aunt standing in the kitchen, his eyes filled with excitement.

"Good Morning, dear," Caroline greeted without looking up from her paper. "Did you have a nice night?" She asked, knowing full well why her daughter didn't come home last night.

"Yes, I did," Alex responded. "But I'll have to tell you about it later. Right now I have to make sure my nephew is ready to go and spend the day with his hero."

Alex didn't think she had ever seen some one jump off a chair so fast. Jimmy was just about out of the kitchen when he turned back, confusion written all over his face. "Did you and Livia have a sleep over last night?" He asked, as if he just realized his aunt had been out all night.

Alex blushed. She could have sworn she heard her mother holding in her laughter behind her. "Umm…yes. We did have a sleep over." Alex told him. It was mostly the truth. They did sleep eventually.

"Did you get to sleep in the same room I got to sleep in?"

"No I slept in Olivia's room."

"With Livia?"

Alex coughed a little before answering this one, and this time her mother couldn't hold in the laughter and released a chuckle. "Yes, with Olivia," she told him, thanking god he was too young to know there was an alternate meaning to sleeping with someone.

"Oh, ok," Jimmy said as he left the kitchen.

Alex turned back to her mother. "Thank God he didn't ask about…"

"But you didn't have any P.J.'s with you," Jimmy interrupted from another room.

"Pajamas," Alex sighed while her mother finally lost control her laughter.


	14. Chapter 14

For disclaimer please see chapter 1.

* * *

Walking into the station house, Olivia had a smile on her face and thought back to that mornings events. She couldn't believe Alex had been so unwilling to leave. No one had ever been like that before. While Olivia had been just as reluctant to let Alex go, she didn't want to show it and possibly scare her off.

She was momentarily brought out of her reverie as she stutter stepped over an uneven patch in the concrete. Always having paid attention to it before, she never realized it was there.

As she regained her bearings, Olivia looked around and noticed the fire engines were not in the garage. She walked into her office and saw it was the first Saturday of the month which meant some of her crew was off doing training exercises and the others were giving fire safety demonstrations at some of the local schools who opted to have it done on the weekend. As Olivia was not on full scale active duty yet, she was not required to attend either event.

Sitting at her desk, Olivia readjusted the strap on her ankle. If asked she wouldn't be able to tell you why she had brought the gun with her, she just had a feeling that today wasn't going to be as peaceful as they all had hoped. Looking at the clock, Olivia saw that she only had about ten minutes to get some work done before Jimmy and Alex arrived.

So engrossed in her work, Olivia didn't hear the door open the first time. The second time, however it couldn't be missed. The constant chatter of a curious five year old brought a smile to her face. She also grew rather curious herself when she heard what questions Jimmy was asking and Alex was trying to avoid. Something dealing with pajamas. She stood up from her desk and went to stand in the door way. As soon as she appeared, she knew the two new comers had spotted her.

"LIVIA!" Jimmy yelled, as he ran up to give her a hug. When he finally released her, he looked her in the eye and began more questions. "Will you tell me how Aunt Alex slept last night without her PJ's?"

The stunned look on Olivia's face brought a smile to Alex's. "I told him you would be more than happy to answer that question for him, Liv."

After recovering, Olivia thought for a minute on how to answer that question without lying to badly. She smiled when she thought of the answer. "I let her borrow some of mine." Which was the truth. Kind of. Alex did borrow a t-shirt. Granted it was in the morning, but who needs specifics.

Thankfully Jimmy dropped the subject and started going on and on about what they were going to be doing at the park. He made sure to mention the ducks several times. Olivia turned to Alec and saw a look of shock. "I can't believe you got him to drop the subject just like that. He has been on my case all morning."

Olivia only smiled and set her hands on Alex's waist, leaving Alex free to wrap hers around the lieutenant's neck. "It helps that I kind of told him the truth," she responded. Leaning in, she was finally able to greet her girlfriend with a kiss. It was just getting good, when Olivia 

felt a tug on her jeans. She broke away from Alex, much to the attorney's disappointment, and looked down at the still anxious five year old.

"Livia, can we go now?" Jimmy pleaded.

Olivia laughed and nodded her head. She released Alex, but took hold of her hand. "Yeah, let's get out of here." She offered her other hand to Jimmy, who gladly accepted it. They started walking towards the door, but stopped short when they heard a menacing voice.

"You're not going anywhere, Liv."

Olivia froze, having immediately recognized the voice. She slowly turned and saw JD standing there, gun in hand. She could tell that Jimmy recognized him as well. His grip on Olivia's hand tightened and she knew she had to get him out of there before JD saw how he reacted. She turned to Alex. "Take Jimmy and get out of here, now. Call Elliot."

Although she really didn't want to leave Olivia alone with this gun carrying psycho, Alex knew she was trying to protect Jimmy. She grabbed Jimmy's hand and began pulling him towards the door when she heard a swift movement and a tiny click. She turned around and gasped in horror. JD was holding the gun to Olivia's head.

"No one is going anywhere. You two," he said motioning between Jimmy and Alex, "are going to sit right over there while Olivia and I talk." They were just inside the truck bay and the only place to sit was against the wall. Alex saw Olivia nod. She took Jimmy and brought him over and they sat with their backs to the wall.

"What are you doing, JD?" Olivia asked. "You're already in enough trouble."

"Yeah no thanks to you and that kid over there," he replied motioning to Jimmy.

Olivia saw Alex tighten her hold on Jimmy. "How is this going to make it any better?" Olivia asked, looking between the gun and herself.

An evil smile appeared across JD's face. "You and I both know that without a witness, they can't prosecute, Liv." He then moved the position of the gun from Olivia to JD.

The color in Alex's face drained from the terror she felt for her nephew. "Yeah, but we both know who you are John," Alex said. "What are you going to do? Kill all three of us?" JD paused to think about what was just said. The distraction was just enough for Olivia to get between Jimmy and the gun.

"Get out of the way, Olivia," JD commanded. "I don't want to have to hurt you too."

Instead of replying, Olivia surged forward. She tackled JD to the ground, sending the gun skidding a few feet away. She tried to maneuver him to where she could subdue him and tie 

him up. However, the shock of the tackle subsiding, JD was able to worm his way out of Olivia's grasp. They both stood, keeping the other in their sights the whole time.

They circled on another, trying to figure out the best way to attack. Olivia had just decided that rushing him would probably work well again, but was unable to execute her plan when a kick landed in the middle of her stomach. With air lacking, Olivia was unable to fight the string of hits that JD was able to perform.

He landed a series of hits. Ribs, stomach, back, shoulders. Anywhere he could reach he hit. JD clenched his fist tightly and threw a staggering right hook that connected, snapping Olivia's head back with the force of the blow.

She fell. Hard. Tripped up by the shock from the punch and the uneven ground she had discovered earlier. She lay dazed and gasping for breath. And she ached! From somewhere behind her she could here Jimmy yelling, or was it Alex? She had to get up. She didn't know how she'd ever do it again.

Once up, Olivia saw her best course of action. Not knowing where the energy came from, she dropped back down and took JD's feet out from under him. He landed with a thud and Olivia was on him in a second. They wrestled around on the ground. Alex was the only one to see they were getting closer and closer to the discarded gun. She prayed that JD didn't notice it. Her hopes were cut short however when she heard the telltale blast. Looking back to the scuffle taking place on the ground, Alex saw Olivia produce another gun and pistol whip the back of JD's head. His body immediately went limp.

Pushing the prone man off her, Olivia sat up and looked at Alex. "There's a set of handcuffs in my desk. Could you go and get them and then call Elliot?"

Alex nodded and went to do what she was told. Jimmy walked over to Olivia and gave her a hug. Not only had she saved his life, again, but she was also ok. Alex came back and walked over to the group. She handed the cuffs to Olivia. Jimmy moved to Alex's side.

As Olivia moved to put the cuffs on JD, Alex saw something that almost made her heart stop. Blood. A small pool of it.

Alex looked at the now bound JD, praying to find some kind of wound. Olivia noticed the look. "It's mine Alex," she told her. Alex's eyes widened in shock and Olivia knew that if she didn't do something, Alex would start to panic. "It's not that bad. I only got shot in the leg. Give me something so I can make a tourniquet and then call Elliot. Tell him to call for a bus."

Alex undid her belt and handed it to Olivia as she pulled out her phone and did as she was told. While Alex was on the phone, Jimmy again returned to Olivia's side. "Livia, what's wrong? Did the bad man hurt you too?" He asked. The fear was evident in his voice. He didn't want to lose Olivia like he did Melanie.

"Yeah, but I'm gonna be fine, little man," Olivia assured him. She placed the belt around her leg and cinched it as tight as she could stand it. She then pulled him into a one armed hug, as if to make sure he knew that she was still there. She heard Alex flip her phone shut and looked up as she rejoined them.

"Elliot said he will be here in ten minutes, and the bus will be here in five," Alex told her.

Olivia could see that she was trying to hold it together, the past few minutes finally getting to her. "Come here," she motioned. Alex all but fell into Olivia's outstretched arms and started to quietly cry. After a few minutes she pulled away.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Here you are with a bullet wound in your leg, I'm the one crying like a baby."

"It's alright. You just saw a psycho point a gun at both your nephew and your girlfriend, and then watched as your girlfriend and said psycho got into a fist fight where I still got shot. I think you've earned a little bit of a cry." Olivia explained with a smile.

Alex smiled a little too. She was about to respond when she heard sirens getting closer. "You're not going to pass out or anything before they get here are you?"

"Probably not, but if I do, make sure Elliot knows you and Jimmy are to be added to my list of visitors."

Alex looked confused. She had never heard of people having a special list of visitors. "What?" she asked.

"When I was on the force and I got injured, I would be hounded by either reporters or people who were grateful I saved their lives. So I arranged it with a few of the hospitals where no one could see me unless they were on the list. Besides me, Elliot is the only one who can add to or take away from it," she explained. "Don't worry though, I'll change it in the morning."

Before Alex could respond, the doors burst open, revealing two EMTs rushing over to the small group. They didn't take much time asking questions, having already been told what the injury was. They gave Olivia a strong painkiller, and started to treat the wound before getting her on the stretcher.

As they were raising the stretcher back up, Olivia now the passenger, Elliot and Monique came in. "Liv, you ok?" Monique asked.

Olivia nodded. "I'll be fine. It's a through and through, but I have to have x-rays to make sure no muscle damage was done."

"What hospital?" Elliot asked, directing his question to one of the EMTs.

"Bellevue," he responded.

Elliot nodded and turned to Jimmy and Alex. "We have a few uni's outside who can take him to booking. Since you two are the only other witnesses, why don't you go with Liv to the hospital and we'll get your statements there."

Alex gave him a thankful smile and proceeded to follow the paramedics outside. They paused, however when they heard Olivia call out. "This pain killer is gonna knock me out in a minute El, so you'll have to get mine in the morning."

Elliot nodded and watched as the small group continued outside. He couldn't believe his luck. Their main suspect practically confessed in front of an ADA and an ex detective. He sighed and wished all cases could be so easy.

When Olivia woke the next morning, she could feel the dull ache in her leg. She took a moment to recall the events from the day before. Just as she had said, the painkiller she was given had knocked her out. She sat up and looked around the room. The first thing she saw was a sleeping ADA sitting in a chair next to the bed. She smiled as she continued her visual perusal. The next thing that caught her eye was another, older, blonde woman sitting on the couch reading a magazine as Jimmy pretended to play doctor on "Livia the Lion" with a real stethoscope.

Olivia was momentarily shocked to see the other woman. She could understand why Alex would be there, and even to some extent, Jimmy, but Caroline Cabot really didn't need to stay with her while she was in the hospital.

After watching the three visitors for a little while longer, Olivia decided to alert them to her consciousness. "She going to make it, little man?"

She watched in amusement as the two conscious visitors snapped their attention in her direction.

"Livia!" Jimmy yelled, which in turn woke the still sleeping Alex. She looked around to see what all the commotion was about. Looking at the bed, she saw that Olivia was awake. A bright smile grew on her face as she jumped up and gave Olivia a big hug, careful not to disturb her injured leg.

"Morning gorgeous," Alex greeted. She moved in to give Olivia a kiss.

Olivia kept the contact brief, however, conscious of their audience. "You guys didn't need to stay here all night," she voiced the thought she had had earlier.

"They didn't, I did," Alex explained. "Elliot took Jimmy home last night and mother insisted on bringing him back as soon as he was wanted, which was pretty much as soon as he woke up."

Olivia looked over to Caroline. "That really wasn't necessary," she told her.

"Of course it was, Olivia," Caroline exclaimed. "You have risked your own life twice now to save my family. If my daughter or my grandson have anything to say about it, you are already family. My place is here."

Olivia smiled at the no nonsense voice used by the elder Cabot and tried to blink back the tears that statement brought. Before she could respond though, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," she shouted. She watched as Elliot poked his head into the room.

"Sorry to interrupt," he smiled as he saw his friend awake. "but Monique and I need to borrow Alex for a moment."

Alex nodded and followed him out of the room. Caroline stood soon afterwards. "I am going to run to the ladies room for a moment and then I am going to take Jimmy to breakfast. Would you mind keeping an eye on Jimmy?" she asked Olivia.

Olivia smiled. "Not at all. Come on over here, little man." She patted the bed on her uninjured side. Caroline watched as her grandson ran over to the bed and, mindful of the injury, got up beside the lieutenant. She smiled and walked out of the room.

"Are you all better now, Livia?" he asked her.

Olivia smiled. "Not quite, but I will be." She reached for the remote to the television and turned on some cartoons. After a few minutes of nothing but the sounds of Warner Brothers, Jimmy spoke up again.

"When I go to stay with daddy, will I still get to see you?" he asked.

Olivia wrapped her arm around him. "You can see me as often as you like. You still have my card?" Jimmy nodded. "Well, as long as it's ok with your daddy, then you can call me whenever you want."

Jimmy seemed satisfied with the response and went back to the show. A few moments later, Caroline reappeared and collected Jimmy with promises they would visit again later.

Olivia turned off the television and sat in silence until the door opened once again, this time allowing Alex to reenter. Olivia smiled and moved as far to one side as she could. Alex took this as an invitation to lie down next to her. She laid her head on Olivia's shoulder, as Olivia put an arm around her.

"Elliot and Monique just wanted to tell me that Casey offered a deal to JD," she explained. "Life without parole." The last statement brought a smile to Olivia's face.

"You were out there for an awfully long time it that's all they needed to tell you," Olivia said.

Alex smiled. "That wasn't all. I was learning some very interesting things."

"Like what?" Olivia asked, growing weary of the answer.

"Tell me about the nurses," Alex chuckled as Olivia groaned. She knew she would never live that down.


	15. Chapter 15

Foe disclaimer, please see the first chapter.

**A/N: before anyone asks. I didn't include the story about the whole nurse thing here. Now don't get made at me. Because so many people were interested in that, I decided to do a kind of prquel. It will be short, but it will explain.**

* * *

**One year later**

Olivia sat on the couch in the middle of the night, glass of water in hand and a smile playing on her lips as she thought back to the night she had just had.

Alex and Olivia had just finished moving in together. Alex's brother, James, who had been discharged from the Army about a week after Olivia was discharged from the hospital, had helped with the move, bringing the now six year old Jimmy along to help. As a reward, Jimmy was allowed to spend the weekend with the couple. That morning, being a Saturday, had found all three occupants awake early and Jimmy itching to go to the park. They played Frisbee for a little while, but Jimmy soon got bored and wanted to feed the ducks. This activity conveniently found Alex going off to get the group some refreshments.

When they were all tired of the park, the small group went back to the new apartment to just chill. They watched movies, ordered pizza, and just hung out. Around 8, Jimmy's bed time, there was a minor disagreement. James had implemented a small rule, "no drinks just before bedtime." Both Alex and Olivia thought that was a reasonable rule for a small child. Jimmy, on the other hand, disagreed and tried his hardest to get his favorite aunts to break it. "Livia, can I please have some pop?"

Knowing what he was doing, Olivia just smiled and shook her head. "Sorry, Little Man, but we are all out."

Jimmy sighed and tried a different approach with Alex. "Aunt Alex, is it ok if I get some juice?"

"Why don't we go and by some tomorrow, buddy?"

Jimmy, clearly getting frustrated at not being able to outsmart the adults, tilted his head to the side. He finally just threw out both of his hands in an exasperated manner and said "Got Milk?"

Alex and Olivia just broke down into fits of laughter. Jimmy, resigned to follow this rule, walked off to his bedroom to get ready to go to sleep. After composing themselves, Alex and Olivia made sure he was all tucked in. Alex read him a story while Olivia went back out to the living room to look over some files.

Instead of going back to active duty with FDNY, Olivia had been approached personally by the commissioner to teach at the academy. She wouldn't be allowed to go back to active duty with the NYPD because the Nelson case involving the Hogan case was a much publicized event and Olivia's name alone could prejudice a jury. However, both Alex and Olivia were alright with the turn of events. To Olivia, it meant she could have some influence on incoming law enforcement. To Alex, it meant Olivia was no longer in danger and she didn't have to worry about her not coming home at night.

Finishing reading through the files, Olivia placed everything on the table. She leaned back against the couch and closed her eyes, relaxing. It was then that Alex came back.

"You alright, Liv?" she asked as she sat next to her girlfriend.

Olivia smiled and wrapped her arms around the blonde. Opening her eyes, she looked into the still concerned face. "Never better" she responded. However, the concerned look stayed in place. "You ok sweetheart?"

Alex bit her lip. "Yes…no," she sighed. "Actually there is something I have been meaning to talk to you about."

"Whatever it is, it will be ok," Olivia assured her. Alex wasn't one to get nervous if they needed to talk. She made a living using words, so it was a little unsettling to see her so out of sorts.

"Well," Alex began. "We have been together for a little over a year now. I knew a long time ago that you were it for me. But lately I've been wanting something more."

"More?" Olivia asked, slightly shocked. She knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Alex, in fact she had been planning on asking later that month. Off the top of her head, Olivia couldn't think of what else she had to give.

Alex nodded. "I want a baby, Liv," she told the brunette. "And not just any baby. I want to feel your baby growing inside me."

As tears started to form in Olivia's eyes, a smile formed on her lips. She knew that it was possible for Alex to carry her child, she just didn't know it was something Alex had wanted. They had often talked about a future family, but Olivia thought that it was still in the farther future. Needless to say she was a little surprised. "Hold that thought for about two minutes," she told Alex. She got up and walked into their bedroom.

Alex could hear her searching for something but she had no idea what it could be. Exactly two minutes later, Olivia came back, the smile still present. Instead of sitting back down on the couch though, she knelt in front of Alex. Alex gasped when she saw the small box. "Alex, you had me completely captivated by you ever since the day you walked into my hospital room. Every time we spent together after that just made me fall even more. Including the little scene inside the pizzeria." Olivia smiled at the memory. Alex did too, although tears were now threatening to spill. "I am completely in love with you. And if we are going to be starting then I want to do this right. Alexandra Renée Cabot, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Unable to form the words, Alex could only nod her head eagerly. She watched as Olivia slipped the ring on her wedding finger. Because words had failed her, she relied on actions. She leaned forward and captured Olivia's lips with her own. She tried to poor every ounce of passion and love she felt for the woman who she was going to spend the rest of her life with.

Finally pulling apart, Olivia looked at Alex and smiled. "I will give you a ring everyday if it gets you to kiss me like that."

Alex laughed and wrapped her arms around Olivia's neck. "I am so very much in love with Olivia Benson and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

Olivia stood up, bringing Alex with her, and pulled her into a hug. She watched silently as Alex lead her to the bedroom, where they could celebrate the new direction their relationship had just taken.

Now, even hours later, Olivia could still not wipe the grin off her face. The most beautiful woman she had ever known had agreed to marry her. She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of tired shuffling coming in her direction.

"What are you doing out here?" her fiancée asked.

Olivia smiled. "Getting something to drink and thinking."

"Thinking about what?" Alex asked as Olivia stood to come and join her back in the bedroom.

Olivia looked at her meaningfully. "Just about what an amazing year it has been."

Alex smiled softly. "It has been a pretty amazing year, hasn't it?"

Olivia returned the smile. As they snuggled back into bed, Olivia wrapped her arms around Alex from behind, her hand unconsciously taking Alex's now ring clad one. She began to softly run her thumb across the ring. "You know what though?" she asked the blonde.

"What?" Alex asked sleepily.

"It's only going to get better." She didn't need to see to know that Alex was now smiling. With a smile of her own, the two lovers drifted off to a peaceful sleep.


End file.
